Emily B. Kerros lives in a small town in Manitoba. In fact, she’s only ever lived in Manitoba, a prairie girl through and through. She inherited her mom’s dream of becoming an author, penning her first manuscript at age eleven and presenting it to her grandpa one Christmas. The manuscript was terrible, but her grandpa was thrilled. Emily then decided that she wanted to write for the people she loved, even if she never became an author.
Growing up, Emily’s favourite pastimes were reading and writing. Really, anything involving books. She fell in love with mysteries at a young age, reading her mom’s old collection of Nancy Drew mysteries on the bus rides to and from school. With three older brothers, it’s perhaps no surprise that Emily eventually gravitated towards tough-guy golden-age writers like Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, and Ross MacDonald, who helped inspire her debut novel, Humphrey’s Motel.
Emily grew up going to church but struggled with the idea of faith amid personal trials and hardships. It wasn’t until she was in her early twenties that she truly began to have a relationship with her heavenly Father. She believes that writing has brought her closer to Him.
When she isn’t reading or writing, Emily enjoys doing yoga, puzzling, baking, and spending time with her cat. She feels excited, and incredibly blessed, to begin this new journey as an author!
Q: What makes Humphrey’s Motel unique in the mystery genre?
A: I like to call Humphrey’s Motel cozy-noir, which probably seems like a juxtaposition. When writing it, I took inspiration from the noir mystery classics that I loved and added a lighter, sort of escapist atmosphere. I ended up with exactly the kind of book I wanted to read: clean and cozy, but with the noir writing style that I enjoy.
Q: Why was it important to you to set your book in Canada, specifically Manitoba?
A: So many of the old-school novels I admire, written by Raymond Chandler or Dashiell Hammett, are American. I wanted to write something similar, a nod to the classics but with a Canadian prairies twist. I haven’t read many books set in small-town Manitoba. It’s always fun to see different parts of Canada expressed in works of fiction.
Q: What do you hope readers take away from Humphrey’s Motel?
A: First of all, I hope readers are encouraged. Humphrey’s Motel is a murder mystery, yes, but it’s ultimately the story of a man who is struggling with lies, a lost past, and personal tragedy. He is reminded that there is still goodness and hope in an imperfect world, and I hope readers can be encouraged by the same.
I also hope readers find the cozy mystery, fictional prairie town, and quirky characters entertaining. Nothing’s more fun than a good whodunit!
Q: Did you learn anything interesting about yourself while writing Humphrey’s Motel?
A: Funnily enough, I learned that I am actually quite cynical by nature. This was something I hadn’t realized before I started writing Humphrey’s Motel. The character of Humphrey is himself quite cynical and I found myself wondering how I was able to write such a close first-person narrative when I was so different than my character. Until it dawned on me that maybe we weren’t so different. Oh well. Self-awareness is a good thing, right?
Q: What is your writing process like?
A: I work a full-time job at a dental office, which I thoroughly enjoy, but needless to say I can’t devote as much time to writing as I would like. So I write when I can, and I don’t pressure myself. Writing when I’m tired or exhausted after a long day never works. I need my mind sharp! I jot down notes and ideas, character names, and little bits of dialogue all the time, no matter where I am. Usually I’ll let an idea simmer for a day or two before I sit down to write it. That way I have a full-fledged piece of the story that I can work with.
I definitely don’t write everything in order. I have a detailed outline, which is especially helpful as a mystery writer since I plot everything backwards. But this also means I can jump into any part of the story and start writing.
Now that I’m explaining this, it sounds very unorganized. It’s a miracle Humphrey’s Motel exists at all!
Q: Do you have any advice for new writers?
A: Write what you know. It’s not new advice. I’m not sure where it originated. But it’s the advice my mom gave me while I was writing Humphrey’s Motel. That doesn’t mean you can’t research and learn new things while you’re writing, but it does mean that, to some extent, you have to have lived the story you want to share.
Read a lot! Read anything and everything, but especially read the type of books you want to write. Reading leads to better writing. And it helps with writer’s block.
Finally, trust the process. Writing is personal. Sharing your writing can be difficult. Publishing can be scary. Editing can be daunting. Pray about it. I often recall a prayer that is referenced in Jan Karon’s Mitford series as “the prayer that never fails,” which is simply “Thy will be done.” It’s a reminder that whatever is supposed to happen will happen. Your heavenly Father has everything in His hands, even your writing journey. What a reassuring thought!
Hopefully there will be more Humphrey’s Motel mysteries to come!
Find Emily B. Kerros online via:
Instagram
“Then Joshua … said to them, ‘You have done all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded, and you have obeyed me in everything I commanded. For a long time now—to this very day—you have not deserted your fellow Israelites but have carried out the mission the LORD your God gave you” (Josh. 22:1-3, NIV).
At the time I read this passage, my husband and I were celebrating forty years of full-time pastoral ministry. Over the course of those forty years we poured our hearts and lives into five churches. As only the Lord could orchestrate, we had come full circle and were now ministering in the very church where my husband received the call to pastoral ministry forty years earlier. However, we were sensing our mission was accomplished and the time was drawing nigh for us to set the cloak of pastoral ministry aside to venture into a new chapter. As Joshua 22:4b indicated, the time had come to return to our own homes—turning our time and attention toward each other, our kids, and our grandkids.
Over the months that we prayerfully sought the Lord concerning our retirement, I took time to consider all the great things He has done for us, and marveled at His goodness. I reread fifty-seven prayer journals tracing the thread of God’s faithfulness throughout my life of ministry. I gathered many of my experiences and wrote about them in my book, A Ministry Survival Guide: Straight from the Heart. Most recently, I received an award from my alma-mater that felt more like a gift from God himself to acknowledge my service to Him.
I also considered some of the places in the Bible where the number forty held significance. For instance, Noah and his family endured forty days and forty nights of rain while living on an ark. After forty years of palace life, Moses spent forty years in Midian, before leading the children of Israel in their wilderness wanderings for another forty years. He also spent forty days on Mt. Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments. In 2 Samuel 5:4 we read that David reigned forty years. Joshua and the other spies spent forty days scouting out the Promised Land. Jesus was tempted in the wilderness for forty days. There are forty days between His resurrection and His ascension. Reference to forty appears over 150 times in the Bible. In each case, something took place associated with a forty-day or forty-year period that changed the future for the various people involved. Why should it be any different for us?
We know full well that we are not simply retiring from. Rather we are retiring to. We have no doubt that the Lord will continue to use our gifts of speaking, preaching, and writing for His purposes. He has already lined up a few speaking engagements for the coming year. He has also opened the door wide for us to minister to grieving parents (see Hope | Muskoka Bible Centre). We are praying toward a greater awareness of this vital ministry. No matter what the Lord has in store for us, as we move ahead into our future, we must heed Joshua’s words, to love the Lord our God, walk in obedience to him, keep his commands, hold fast to him and serve him with all [our] heart and with all [our] soul (Josh. 22:5). However, our initial plan is to take time to rest as we watch and wait for His unfolding plan to be revealed.
“… See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland” (Is. 43:19, NIV). Amen!
What new thing is God doing in your life?
Lisa Elliott is an inspirational speaker and award-winning author of The Ben Ripple, Dancing in the Rain, and A Ministry Survival Guide. She’s also a writer for Just Between Us Magazine, theStory, and Good Ground. She and her pastor-husband, David, have four children (three on earth, one in heaven) and serve the Lord together in Ottawa, ON, Canada.
]]>Betty Sawatzky was born into a middle-income Romanian family in Kamloops, British Columbia. It was a family tormented by generations of alcoholism and violence. She often felt the wrath of her father, as he preferred a child who remained quiet and out of sight. Betty was anything but that! She laughed too loud, sang too loud, cried too loud, and was a busy little girl! Needless to say, she was not her father’s favourite!
When Betty was four years old, a neighbour came to their home warning that the next time her dad beat her mother he would most likely kill them all. That day, the neighbour gave them money to travel by train to Manitoba.
Within days, Betty’s father committed suicide. That chapter of their lives closed.
Over time, her mother remarried and Betty and her older sister grew up on a farm in an accepting and loving Christian community. She lived a fairly normal teenage life, but in some ways she remained haunted by the first four years of her life.
What makes a man feel so broken and hopeless that he would take his own life? How could a father treat his family with such cruelty? Betty wondered, “What does the love of a father really look like?”
She gave her life to Jesus at a Billy Graham movie night at her Christian high school when she was fourteen. When she responded to the altar call and came forward to pray, she opened her eyes to see her older sister standing right beside her. She too had been called, from the opposite side of the auditorium!
From that day forward, the two sisters spoke the same language, not just of a violent home but of being followers of Christ. The healing journey could now begin.
In time, Betty married and had two beautiful children, both of whom displayed the Romanian fire that sometimes got them into trouble! Betty could relate, as she had gone through her own seasons of rebellion and repentance, striving to live righteously and then falling back into disobedience and mayhem.
While teaching children’s and women’s ministry, Betty fell in love with God the Creator, seeing beauty and glory in His creation! But she was yet to understand God the Father.
In her thirties, Betty had three miscarriages. She sank into a deep depression, reliving snatches from her early years. In the thick of it, she was diagnosed with four different kinds of anxiety disorder. Where was God in all this? Did He exist in the bizarre pit of debilitating fear and deep despair she had fallen into? Where was her ultimate Protector? The combination of medication and Christian counselling saved Betty’s life, forcing her to dig deeper into those first four tumultuous years at the hand of her angry father.
When her own children got involved in dangerous situations through poor choices and careless living, she found herself fighting for her kids. That was when she finally understood her heavenly Father’s heart. Just as she relentlessly pursued her children to return to their commitment to Christ, she finally realized that God the Father had been pursuing her amidst a broken world. Just as she fiercely fought for her family, the Lord fiercely fought for her.
Upon learning that a dear uncle was near death, Betty went to him and engaged in many discussions about her walk of faith. He often scoffed, yet he asked questions. Although he may have been trying to trip her up, he also seemed intrigued by the concept of a loving God.
In his last few weeks of life, confined to a Calgary hospital bed and unable to speak, they texted each other. One night, she was brave enough to tell him that he needed Jesus in his life, knowing that it risked ending their relationship. Her uncle shared how ashamed he felt. Why would God accept him on his death bed after a lifetime of rejecting Him?
She texted him back: “Jesus meets you where you are, right now, Uncle. He waits for you to turn to Him. He aches for you. Talk to Him. He knows what you’re going through, and He aches for you to talk to Him.”
That is the message of her book, I am the Prodigal, I am the Eldest. Jesus left His heavenly home of royalty and came to this broken world to pursue each of us and call us back. He meets us where we are in life, whether victorious or broken. God the Father aches for us to be in His arms!
Q: What makes your version of the Prodigal Son story different from others?
A: I’ve always been intrigued by this parable that Jesus shared with the leaders of the Jewish faith. But in delving deeper into the culture of ancient Israel, I realized there was so much more to the story. We lose its full meaning due to a lack of knowledge and understanding of the times.
As I dug deeper, I had an Aha! moment when it all came together. But I shrugged it off for three years, wondering whether I could write the back. Still, I imagined the chapters, characters, setting, and storyline and sought to digest and sort it out.
Q: What inspired you to finally sit down and write?
A: I was listening to CHVN, a contemporary Christian radio station out of Winnipeg, when I heard about the Braun Book Awards. I thought, “Why not? Go for it!” That was in early February. My husband chuckled at my goal of writing a novel in just over a month, but I was determined to finally get this story down on paper.
Within hours of the deadline at the end of March, the book was written and in the hands of Word Alive Press! No, I didn’t win the award. However, I finished the novel I had longed to write for the past three years. It was really an incredible experience!
Q: How have you used the tragedy in your life to write this book?
A: I have woven different aspects of my life throughout the story. Unfortunately, I know how to explain these experiences all too well. I look back at my life and see how God has used every experience to bring glory to Him. Only He can make beauty from ashes. If my book encourages one person to turn to the Lord, the writing of this book has not been in vain.
But it goes deeper than that! For the many doors God has opened to share my story and hopefully bring readers a little closer to Him, it has been worth it. Even now, as you read this blog, He gives beauty for my ashes!
Q: What did you learn through the process of writing your first book?
A: Being a reporter, I know how to write facts, add historical significance, and include a few quotes… but I do it all from an unbiased and neutral perspective.
In writing this novel, my original manuscript was very descriptive. Full of adjectives! I was writing a novel, not a news story, so of course it had to be descriptive. However, my editor showed me that my writing language was too flowery, almost to the point of being comical. This was not what I wanted at all! Together, we trimmed it down. To be truthful, it took a bit to pry my fingers off the manuscript, but in the process I learned how to write for today’s readers. The sentences are tight and to the point, using exclamation marks sparingly (!).
More importantly, through the process of sharing God’s love as a Father, I fell deeper in love with Him! I learned on a deeper level how the Lord pursues me. I was reminded of His gentleness, forgiveness, and incredible love. He longs for me to turn to Him so He can hold me in His arms as my own personal heavenly Father.
Q: What advice would you give to an aspiring writer?
A: If you have an idea for a book, just do it! Start writing. It doesn’t matter at which point in the story. If the Lord has laid a story on your heart to write, do it. Trust in His guidance to write through you to share the message He has commissioned you to write. I’ve heard for years that it’s best that we write about what we know, and that is true—but God is so much bigger than our own experiences! It took a lot of research and study to write this book, but through it all the Lord directed the story in my head and in my heart.
If God has called you to write a book to build His kingdom, He will be faithful to lead you through the process. Trust in Him and His guidance.
Q: What happened with your uncle? Did he accept Christ into his life?
A: Yes. A dear friend of the family shared the story of the Prodigal Son with him and led him to Christ in a prayer of repentance. However, it wasn’t until well after I’d finished writing this book that I found out that the story of the Prodigal Son is what brought him to his knees. I look forward to the day when I see him again on the other side of heaven and share with him how he inspired me to write this book!
Q: What’s next? Will there be a sequel? Will this turn into a series?
A: I’m already working on the next book, in which the two main characters, the prodigal and the older brother, find themselves in a disastrous situation that takes them to places they would never have envisioned. I also already know the title:
The question is, will these experiences bring them closer together or tear them apart? We are human, after all, and more often than not we react in the flesh rather than respond in the spirit. The second book will remind us that we can only find our strength in Him, not in others—and certainly not in ourselves.
This second book will also tap into the deep relationship I have with my older sister. Our relationship hasn’t always been easy, because we were both damaged during our early childhood, each in a different way. But we both have seen the healing hand of God in our lives, differently but beautifully!
A third book could easily follow, but first we’ll see where these first two books go.
Find and follow Betty, here:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/betty.froese.sawatzky or www.facebook.com/betty.sawatzky.3
Email: bettysawatzky.art@gmail.com
In fact, I’d go so far as to say that every writer already has one. In extreme cases, that audience might literally be oneself. A person writes to their own taste and may not specifically plan to show their work to anyone in particular. There’s nothing wrong with that.
So your audience might be real people, or it might be hypothetical. Unless you’re writing just for family and friends—and again, there’s nothing wrong with that either—then your audience is probably at least somewhat hypothetical.
I’ve touched on this subject before but it’s important to have a sense of who your hypothetical readers may be. It will help you craft the manuscript and make decisions about it.
Too often, writers make the mistake of thinking about this too broadly. When I receive a manuscript for evaluation, it often comes with a book proposal or letter seeking to reassure me and/or the publisher that the book will be well-read by a lot of people when the time comes to market it. Who is the book for? Everyone, they say. Young or old, man or woman, believer or non-believer, this book has it all.
I suppose there must be some art out in the world with true mass appeal. Movies that everyone loves, with few exceptions. Television shows with huge audiences that almost no one dislikes. And yes, best-selling books with universally positive reviews.
Art like this exists in a theoretical space. In real life, though, I would say that it’s hard to find.
That’s because the most impactful creative works tend to be those that are targeted to a very particular group of people. This isn’t some generic pepperoni pizza cooked up in the middle of the afternoon and stuck in a warmer until some random customer happens over to buy it. This is a highly customized pie, served fresh out of the oven with toppings and special requests designed to make the one who ordered it salivate with desire.
Do you find yourself trying to write the perfect book, the one that will appeal to absolutely everyone? Let me suggest that you may be barking up the wrong tree. You may think this is the way to go, but from an editorial standpoint it’s actually a bit of a red flag. Broad is often synonymous with generic.
My encouragement to you is to think very carefully about what kind of book you want to write, and who is going to want to read it. Be as specific as possible in crafting it.
When you’re in the midst of the writing stage, your readers are hypothetical by definition. But a good approach is to imagine real people who you know and how they might react to your book. Don’t focus on smoothing everything out to make all these people happy, even though that may be your first instinct. Instead, think about who is already going to like it, and then brainstorm ways in which you can customize the manuscript so that they will like it even more. Lean into that prospective reader as hard as you can.
Ultimately, this is going to help you to craft the best, most impactful, most satisfying book that’s possible. And at the end of the day, that’s exactly what you want. You don’t want a legion of people who just think your book is okay; you want a small group of devoted super-fans who will follow you to the ends of the earth.
Evan Braun is a full-time author and editor. He has authored three novels, the first of which, The Book of Creation, was shortlisted in two categories at the 2012 Word Awards. He has released two sequels, The City of Darkness (2013) and The Law of Radiance (2015), completing the series. Braun is an experienced professional editor, and has worked with Word Alive Press authors since 2006. He is also a regular contributor at The Fictorians, a popular writing blog.
]]>I had been anticipating this day for several months. I was receiving honourable recognition at my alma mater and would be granted Tyndale University’s Distinguished Alumnus: Community Impact Award; given to an alumnus who has gone on to become a Christian leader of influence. The thought of it overwhelmed my heart.
The Lord impressed Isaiah 49 upon my heart in preparation for the day and I realized it could very well be my testimony. He said, “You are my servant, [Lisa], in whom I will display my splendor” (Is. 49:3, NIV). It was as if the Lover of my soul took my heart in His nail-scarred hands and wrapped it up with a beautiful bow. “[Lisa] the LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing” (Zeph. 3:17, NIV). And, sing, He did. An entire day devoted to celebrating me!
I did not see this day coming. You see, much of my life was never intended to happen. Or, at least, not the way I planned for it to. The Lord, however, had different plans, plans for a hope and a future (Jer. 29:11, NIV). Allow me to explain by sharing with you, the words I shared with the audience that day.
“I came to Tyndale as a baby Christian with no money, no concrete plan, and absolutely no clue what I was doing with my life. Therefore, I surprised myself and everyone who knew me when, at the end of registration day I’d signed up for a four-year degree.
Who knew all the ways the Lord would show up to see me through and help me complete all four years. Who knew how much I would grow in my faith as I sopped up every ounce of the sweet fellowship of other believers, fully immersing myself in community life, including a year on Student Council as the Social Rec. Who knew of the myriad of ways professors, faculty, and fellow students would graciously and patiently encourage me to grow in my relationship with Jesus as I fumbled my way along.
Who knew how the most life-changing event would occur in my second year when I was selected to be a “Big Sister” for orientation week. That’s when David Elliott, one of my little brothers, was put on my path. Who knew that after watching all the other “Bridal College” couples begin dating in the fall, get engaged at Christmas, and be married the next spring, David and I would date— and I would wait—three-and-a-half years before we were finally married. I might add it was worth the wait! He has faithfully stood by my side and encouraged me as his ministry partner, mother of our four children, and in my personal call to ministry “beyond the church walls” ever since—including being with me here today.
Who knew when the Lord joined us together that I’d become a pastor’s wife? To be honest, I didn’t even know what one was! It certainly wasn’t the original plan. And yet, the Lord saw fit that I’d spend the next forty years serving alongside the man I loved, pastoring five churches, pouring into the lives of thousands of people? Forty years filled with hospitality, teaching, counseling, discipleship, camp ministry, and a wide assortment of other ministry initiatives.
Who knew that God would ever call me to be a public speaker to impact lives for His kingdom? I cringed at the thought of having to face my worst fears, insecurities, and inadequacies—from a public platform! And yet, over and over again, God’s power has been made perfect in my weakness (2 Cor. 12:9, NIV) as I’ve shared all He’s taught me—straight from the heart.
Who knew that amid the full-throttle demands of full-time ministry, I would raise four pastor’s kids? Or, that one of them would be diagnosed with leukemia, at the age of eighteen? Who knew that an entire Facebook community, many of them complete strangers, would join our journey of faith in response to my heart’s cry from Psalm 40:1-4 (NIV) that says, I cried to the Lord and He heard my cry. He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He gave me a new song to sing. A hymn of praise to my God. My prayer continues to be that, Many will see and fear and put their trust in Him.
Who knew that three books would be birthed out of my son’s death? Or, that God would turn my mess into a message of hope, opening doors I could never have foreseen and leading me to unthinkable platforms to “let it ripple” for the glory of God? Platforms such as: an oncology nurses conference, a VON appreciation event, an oncology students’ classroom, and the Starlight Children’s Foundation’s 25th Gala?
Who knew God would use my utmost loss to bind up the brokenhearted, comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve (Is. 61:1-3, NIV) by facilitating over twenty-five GriefShare groups alongside my husband and lead Grieving Parents’ Retreats as a part of a club we would NEVER have chosen to be part of?
Who knew that all of these events in my life would lead me to this moment of honorable recognition where I’d be standing here in the place where it all began?
While I could never have known … God knew! His ways are perfect, even when we can’t see or understand them. As God’s Glory Story continues to unfold in my life I have seen that God uses us in spite of ourselves, our background, our frailties, and our insecurities. And, I’ve seen how He uses even our deepest pain for His purposes. To God be the glory. Great is His faithfulness!”
Even now, as I bask in the afterglow of receiving this award I am overcome by how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge (Eph. 3:18-19, NIV). I can’t think of a better gift He could have given me than to take this heart of mine and wrap it up with His love, approval, affirmation, and blessing over my life.
Lisa Elliott is an inspirational speaker and award-winning author of The Ben Ripple, Dancing in the Rain, and A Ministry Survival Guide. She’s also a writer for Just Between Us Magazine, theStory, and Good Ground. She and her pastor-husband, David, have four children (three on earth, one in heaven) and serve the Lord together in Ottawa, ON, Canada.
]]>Gary S. Edwards was raised in a Christian home by parents who were once missionaries overseas. He attended Christian schools and went to university to be trained as a commercial pilot, with the goal of flying helicopters for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. While waiting for a call from the RCMP to begin training, he attended university to earn his degree in Education. Upon graduation, he felt God leading him into education and gave up his dream of flying helicopters.
Shortly after beginning his teaching career, he became a semi-professional magician and juggler; performing across Canada and internationally. Following a 15-year career as a teacher, he began full-time Christian ministry in 2002 and in 2011, he founded C-Quest, an evangelism-focused ministry based in Mexico. He is a husband, father of two, and has been a popular speaker at Bible camps, youth events and teacher’s conventions, often using illusions and juggling to share the Gospel. An admitted “adrenaline junkie”, he enjoys travelling, sports, board games and competition of any kind.
Q: What event in your life inspired you to write this book?
A: In 2019, I suffered a cardiac arrest and was clinically dead for five minutes. During that time, I experienced a profound “death encounter” with Jesus. This encounter has changed my life and my wish is to share it with others so that they can benefit from it as well.
Q: How is the topic of your book personal to you and why did you choose to share it with readers?
A: The Most Important Lesson applies to everyone. Too many believers, like myself, think they understand what’s really important in life but fail to apply it to the degree that they should. My desire is to save others from wasting precious time and effort by stating clearly what was revealed to me during my death encounter with Jesus, and teaching others the method I used to grow closer to Christ.
Q: Why would someone want to read your book?
A: It took me almost 57 years to finally learn The Most Important Lesson. Despite hearing this important truth countless times before, it took a profound death experience during a cardiac arrest, for me to finally realize what I’d been missing most of my life. My desire is to help others learn and apply what took me so long to learn. My prayer is that it will transform their lives as it has mine.
Q: Explain what you’d like readers to walk away with after reading your book.
A: We all want to go to heaven when we die, but how many of us are 100% sure that we will make it there? Scripture makes it very clear how to receive salvation and how we should live our lives. Unfortunately, too many people are deceived by the contrary and often confusing messages they receive from sources other than God’s word. Matthew 7:21- 23 (NIV) contains three of the most important verses in the entire Bible, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”
God’s will is that each of us know Him, and His son, Jesus, intimately. This is what I refer to as the most important lesson I ever learned. Knowing God’s will for our lives and knowing Him intimately are the most important things we can do during our time here on earth.
Q: How would you describe your writing style?
A: If I was to describe my writing style, it would be “honest and straightforward.” This simply mirrors my approach to life. I value honesty and believe that readers deserve to hear the truth, especially when it applies to spiritual things. The enemy is a master of deception and he often uses tricks to deceive people. As followers of Christ our mission is to speak truth in all things. I find that sharing my own personal experiences and what I have learned from these events is an easy way for me to be honest with my readers.
Q: How do you choose a topic to write about?
A: I usually write about things that have been on my mind for some time. At the risk of sounding overly spiritual, for me it usually comes down to a conversation of some kind that I’ve had with God. Usually, these conversations happen in the middle of the night and I get flooded with ideas that I believe come from God. My most recent project is a good example of this. God brought to mind something that happened to me many years ago and I’m now using this as the foundation for my next book, What Will Your Tombstone Say?: How to Leave a Lasting Legacy.
Q: Do you have any advice for new writers?
A: Like the Nike slogan says, “Just Do It!” When considering the idea of writing a book, it is easy to be overwhelmed by looking at the end result. Rather than looking at the end product, I tackle my books one step, or chapter, at a time. As time progresses, the work grows and the end result takes care of itself. Get your ideas down on paper in an outline. Modify it as you “marinate” in your thoughts, and then just start writing. Revisions are part of the writing process, so don’t be glued to stuff that needs to go.
Find and follow Gary, here:
Website: www.themostimportantlesson.info
As you’re making your resolutions to eat more vegetables and drink more water, why not also resolve to grow in your faith and dig deeper into the Word of God in 2024! A great way to start is with a devotional. With so many to choose from, here are a few of our favourites.
A Word from His Word Series
by Gary R. Small
Each chapter of A Word from His Word focuses on a single word or phrase from a short biblical passage. It is the author’s prayer that by returning to a simplified but effective approach to Bible reading, your times with God’s word will be invigorated. Find the entire series here.
30 Day Devotional Journey Series
by Ruth Teakle and a Company of Friends
These relatable, truth-filled devotionals will stir you to live out your faith in tangible ways that demonstrate the goodness and kindness of God. Ideal for both personal and group study, they make a great addition to church and home libraries. Find the entire series here.
Prayers for You: 365 Days of Heartfelt Prayers and Meditations
by Shireen Spencer
Do you ever feel stuck in your prayer life? Meditate on these 365 heartfelt, scripture-filled prayers. You will grow, and God will show you that He is listening. Find it here.
Divine Detours: A 40-Day Devotional Navigating the Narrow Path
by Nicole Dubé
In a day when so many are seeking absolute truth, the one place to find it is in the Bible. Using day-to-day analogies and surrounded by scriptures, this devotional will help you navigate a closer walk with God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Find it here.
Devotions for the Artist at Heart: Get Creative and Draw Your Devotions
by Rev. Tina Rae
Take a walk through God’s Word in a way that will allow your creativity to shine through. This unique devotional is intended to encourage and inspire both novice and experienced artists alike as they express their praise and learn about how much God values their creativity. Find it here.
40 Days in the Mancave: Men’s Devotional
by Todd Stahl
Men need to find a place to get away, chill out, and reenergize. Wherever your man cave may be, carve out a few minutes each day to refuel in it. To be healthy both emotionally and spiritually, we need food. Guys love to eat! Spiritual food for our mind and soul is as vital as food for our body. Find it here.
The WOW Series
by Ruth Coghill
In these four-lesson guides, Ruth challenges her audience to discover and apply the Biblical principles as she openly shares the joys and challenges of her own spiritual journey. Find the entire series here.
Wise for Salvation: Meaningful Devotions for Families with Little Ones
by Christie Thomas
As your family follows each week’s series of devotions, children will act, dance, draw, imagine, memorize, and sing their way to a better relationship with God and a knowledge of His Word. Find it here.
Dream Big: 30 Days to a Life Beyond All You Could Ask or Imagine
by Heather Boersma
This 30-day devotional is your tool to discover God’s big dream for your life. Be inspired by scripture, stories and practical advice about how to live the abundant life God has for you. Find it here.
The Meaning Is in the Dirt: Meditations on Life's Richness
by Annette M. Lane RN, PhD & Marlette B. Reed, B.Ed, MA
This book offers short and easy-to-read meditations that address making meaning through the metaphor of dirt. With their decades of working with people facing challenging circumstances, identical twins Marlette and Annette explain why making meaning is important, and they outline practical ways to do so. Find it here.
Hope for an Unwanted Journey: Daily Readings for Those Whose Loved Ones Struggle with Addiction/Mental Illness
by Rev. Bill and Donna Lea Dyck
Is your loved one struggling with addictions or mental illness? This devotional provides hope, a spiritual perspective, and tools for walking this journey. Find it here.
Rebuild, Restore, Renew: Growing in Christ While Going through Divorce
by Gladys Thompson
These devotionals will help those experiencing the trauma of divorce and those offering support to better understand how to survive and grow through it. Find it here.
For many more devotionals, check out our website.
Ariana Forsman is a Project Manager at Word Alive Press. She is an avid reader and lives in Petersfield, MB with her husband and her daughter.
]]>Regardless of all the love stories out there, I must say that, for me, the greatest love story ever told is my own. I’m not talking about the love my husband and I share. Although I love him dearly, and have for more than four decades, he was not my first love.
I met my First Love at camp when I was fifteen. His name is Jesus. Although I’d gone to church all my life, this was the first time I fully understood that Jesus loved me personally, that He died for me personally, and that He wanted to have a personal relationship with me. It was an unforgettable day! I fell into His wide open arms and experienced His amazing love on a level I’d never experienced before.
From the very first day I met Him, His love has been rock steady: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres” (1 Corinthians 13:4–7, NIV).
As I consider just how great His love is for me, I realize that it’s not only because of all He’s done for me; it’s because “God is love” (1 John 4:8, NIV). He is the lover of my soul, the creator and keeper of my heart.
At times in my relationship with the Lord, I’ve let Him down, disappointed, or disobeyed Him. There have been seasons when I’ve neglected to express my love for Him in the ways He deserves.
But He’s never let me down. His love is the gift that keeps on giving, not merely at Christmas time but throughout the year. His love never fails!
We read in Lamentations 3:21–23, “Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (NIV).
There’s a Sunday school song I learned as a child, written by C. Austin Miles in 1914. It goes like this: “Wide, wide as the ocean, high as the heavens above; deep, deep as the deepest sea is my Saviour’s love. I, though so unworthy, still am a child of his care, for his word teaches me that his love reaches me ev’rywhere.”
Perhaps you’ve misunderstood His love. Or maybe you’ve walked away from His love. I want you to know that regardless of your state of heart or mind, you are loved beyond measure by the “Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6, NIV).
“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:14–19, NIV).
Lisa Elliott is an inspirational speaker and award-winning author of The Ben Ripple, Dancing in the Rain, and A Ministry Survival Guide. She’s also a writer for Just Between Us Magazine, theStory, and Good Ground. She and her pastor-husband, David, have four children (three on earth, one in heaven) and serve the Lord together in Ottawa, ON, Canada.
]]>But what about joy? Are people familiar with joy?
With Christmas just around the corner, we see cards on the shelves of nearly every store—and so many of them flaunt the word “joy.” But do people really know what that means? Amidst the hustle and bustle of the season, do people take the time to experience the heavenly gift that is joy?
In my experience, people can’t even remember the last time they were happy, never mind joyful. Our consumerist culture thrives on unhappiness, selling us hordes of things that promise to fulfill us, bring us peace, and give us that ever-elusive joy so many hunt for. Yet many thousands of dollars later, we’re still missing it. We’re generally unhappy and distract ourselves from this fact in the pursuit of what we lack.
So how do we experience joy? How do we reclaim this part of being human?
Joy has been elusive for me, as it is for most people. As someone who has suffered from clinical depression for most of her life, it’s been a challenge to experience joy in any capacity.
However, despite the odds, I actually live quite a joyful life. I’m generally happy, content, and delighted with life. I love being alive. Every day I am grateful that I get to live out another day.
So what’s my secret?
The secret to joy is multifaceted with a shining light in the middle that fuels it all. For the purposes of this blog post, I’ll divide joy into three parts. I’ll begin with the outermost parts and work my way into the core of joy.
Part of having a joyful life is living well, to the best of your ability, so that you create an environment that is hospitable to joy. That means cultivating life-giving relationships, eating well, exercising, sleeping consistently, having or creating meaning for your life, maintaining a healthy physical space for you to live in, practicing gratitude, and growing in every capacity—mentally, emotionally, intellectually, physically, etc. You don’t have to do all these things perfectly, but striving to reach “good enough” is integral.
When I was in the darkest depths of depression, taking ownership of my well-being in all these ways was the turning point. Once I began cultivating the life I wanted, the flickers of light I saw occasionally began to elongate and become more predictable. I was creating a crucible, a hospitable environment, for joy to grow and flourish.
In addition to creating a hospitable environment for joy, you have to notice when moments of joy happen. Otherwise, it doesn’t matter that you’ve created an environment for joy to thrive in. If you don’t notice when it’s happening, you’re not experiencing it.
In this regard, gratitude is incredibly important, because it attunes us to the good things in our lives. It makes us pause to notice things. Creating a record of the joyful moments we experience every day can further compound our joy, creating joy momentum. This momentum can carry us through difficult times.
Finally, the core of joy is existential. The foundation of joy is, you guessed it, God! God is the Joy-Giver. He is the reason we are able to experience and receive joy at all.
If we miss this nucleus of joy, it doesn’t matter whether we’re taking care of ourselves to the best of our ability or noticing the good things. Those things won’t have meaning without the Source of our existence. Joy emanates from God’s laughter and delight in us, and from His creation. Our relationship with love drives out fear, which is the ultimate joy-killer. Love is the Source of the hospitable environment for joy. Love is the eyes through which we are able to notice the good gifts we are daily given. God is the “why” of joy, giving ultimate meaning to both our joy and sorrow.
Joy is not a rare beast eluding our pursuit. It’s a normal part of the human experience, something God built into being human.
This Christmas season, lean into joy and cultivate it. Remind yourself that you can access joy in Christ and that God has gifted you the experience of joy as part of your heavenly inheritance. My prayer for you, dear reader, is that you will enter the new year with joy in your heart and that this joy will remain constant with you throughout 2024.
Haeon Kang is a Project Manager with Word Alive Press. She has a master's degree in theology and loves to read, create art, and play with her dog and bird during her down time.
]]>But at the same time, we continue with our lives, doing mundane things such as going to work or the grocery store. Only when the world comes crashing down around us and trouble hits home that we begin to miss the peace we so recently took for granted. The peace we didn’t know we had before the anxiety and worry hit.
My daughter and I were headed to a Christmas event in our town when I got the call. As soon as I answered it, I knew something was wrong.
Pulled over on the side of the road, I quickly took my phone off speaker and braced myself for the news. My mother was in the hospital, possibly because of a heart attack.
Being the oldest, and having a history working in the medical field, my first order of business was to calm everyone down and say things like “We don’t know that yet,” “She’s in good hands,” and all sorts of things you say but don’t really believe.
The second order of business was to downplay the situation to my daughter, who sat patiently beside me, while I made calls.
That night, as I told my husband and teenage son the news, I held it together. Again, I said the words with a steadiness in my voice that didn’t reflect what was going on inside. I held it together as I texted my parents and my sister for updates.
This is what we do. As mothers, fathers, and sons or daughters, we find strength we didn’t know we had. We hold it together for those who need us. But we can only do that for so long before the check engine light comes on. When we hit our breaking point, we find ourselves surrendering to the heaviness of it all, finally collapsing under the pressure and longing for the peace we thought we had.
We weren’t designed to carry our burdens alone. In John 14:26, Jesus says that we have a Helper, the Holy Spirit. And where does that help come from? The maker of heaven and earth!
Not only that, but Jesus promises us peace: “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27, NKJV).
These are the words Jesus used to say goodbye to His followers. He knew they would face persecution, and that many of them would be martyrs.
God’s peace does not mean the absence of trouble. That is the world’s definition. God’s peace is so much bigger than that!
As we approach Christmas this year, many of us approach it with heavy hearts. But I pray that we will experience the peace Jesus has for us through the Holy Spirit. And I pray that the trouble of this world will be stripped away, so we will be filled with “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding” (Philippians 4:7, NKJV).
Crystal Hildebrand is a Publishing Assistant at Word Alive Press. She is an avid reader and writer who enjoys coffee, book clubs, and her sensitive wolfhound. Crystal and her husband of 20 years live in rural Manitoba with their two very busy teenagers.
]]>Both Ed Hird and David Kitz are seasoned award-winning Christian writers. Both men have authored a variety of books and articles, and both are active ordained ministers of the gospel—Ed with the Anglican Mission in Surrey BC, and David with the Foursquare Gospel Church in Ottawa, ON. In addition, David Kitz serves as the chair of The Word Guild, and Ed Hird is a frequent contributor to BC Christian News.
What drew them to combine their skills to write this book was their common desire to see Christ’s bride, the church, renewed, refreshed, and revived after years of struggle and decline.
Q: The Elisha Code and the Coming Revival — that’s an intriguing title. David, please tell me more about the Elisha Code. Why this title?
A: On February 11th, 2018, I delivered a sermon entitled “Healing the Water”. I was struck by the parallel nature of Elisha’s first public miracle, the healing of the spring at Jericho, to Jesus’ first miracle of turning water into wine. This parallel triggered a quest to discover if Elisha’s other miracles resembled the miracles of Jesus, and to my amazement, I found they do. In the process of my research, I uncovered the blueprint Jesus was following to bring about spiritual renewal and revival in his day. We urgently need the same renewal in our lives and our churches our day.
Q: Dr. Ed Hird, how did you become involved in writing this book, and how did the writing process unfold?
A: Having co-written three books—For Better for Worse, Blue Sky, and God’s Firestarters— with my wife Janice, God has given me an anointing and passion for co-writing books. When David Kitz approached me to co-write The Elisha Code, I jumped at the chance. Over fifteen months, we met weekly by zoom, and typed out hundreds of pages from recorded zoom conversations. David is so well organized that it was a privilege and challenge to weave related stories into the revival theme. I am more surrendered to the Lord because of this ‘iron sharpening iron’ experience. Writing this book has been a positive experience for both of us. Seasoned writers may want to consider working with another likeminded author. While we cannot produce revival, we can prepare our hearts so that we don’t miss it when God pours revival upon his people. The Elisha Code is about not missing what God is about to do.
Q: Why do you believe a nationwide revival is possible in the days ahead?
A: Biblical history and more than 2,000 years of church history tell us revivals occur and reoccur. Furthermore, they often begin in dark times of uncertainty and turmoil. Ed Hird and I were young men when we were caught up in the Jesus people movement of the early 1970s. It was a revival that emerged from a counterculture revolution. Was it unexpected? Absolutely. Can something similar happen again? Can these dry bones live again? Ezekiel 37 provides the answer to that question.
Q: On a personal level, are there certain preconditions that make spiritual renewal possible or likely?
A: A growing level of discontent with our current situation personally and nationally can prompt a deep hunger for change. When the Holy Spirit engages, spurs, and directs that hunger, repentance, and a turning to faith in Jesus follows. On a personal level, we need deep repentance rooted in complete humility. We cannot save ourselves or our society. We need Jesus.
Q: In the fourth chapter of your book, you make this statement: “The voice of the prophet is needed today, just as it was in Jesus’ day. A national call to repentance is needed now. Who will voice that call? Where are the prophets for our time?” What do you mean by that statement? Are there prophets among us?
A: Throughout history, prophetic voices have called people to repentance. That was the primary role of the Old Testament prophets. Their mission was to turn wayward people back to their loving Creator-Redeemer. But there were New Testament prophets too. Acts 13:1-3 lists some of them by name. Throughout church history, prophetic voices have heeded God’s call and spoken truth and grace to a broken world. The Elisha Code highlights the work of several of these historic, church-age prophets, who challenged the world systems of their time. We need to hear prophetic voices in our day calling us back to God.
Q: What do want readers to take away from reading this book?
A: We both want readers to walk away with a deep hunger for personal, national, and global revival. This troubled world needs to turn to Jesus. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matthew 5:6). The Elisha Code establishes the clear biblical link between the Old Testament prophetic duo of Elijah and Elisha, and the New Testament duo of John the Baptist and Jesus. Plotting the parallel nature of their ministries makes for a fascinating read. For most Christian readers this will be new unexplored territory. But Elijah and Elisha, John and Jesus did not come for our entertainment. They were sent to this world for our salvation and transformation. We want saving transformation to take root within us and in the world around us.
Find and follow David Kitz here:
Website: David Kitz Productions
Facebook: Facebook
YouTube: david kitz canada - YouTube
Find and follow Dr. Ed Hird here:
Website: www.edhird.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ed.hird.5
YouTube: Dr. Ed Hird - YouTube
I found the task of writing this week’s blog on hope, in honour of the first Sunday of Advent, daunting. Everywhere we turn, it seems like there is a crisis beyond hope. On TV, it’s something about climate change. At the grocery store, it’s the ever-rising cost of basic necessities. The guy on YouTube has no good news about the Israel-Palestine war. People are losing their minds as they drown in loneliness and isolation.
You may find yourself asking, what is there to hope for?
Well, this is a personal question. Humans, even the most cynical among us, secretly hope until the end. I think the more important question this Advent is: what does it take to keep hope going?
First, be kind to yourself. If you can’t have hope this Advent, so what? This task can feel impossible on the worst days, so the last thing you need is to force yourself to feel something you can’t muster.
But keep in mind that hopelessness, like everything else in life, is transient. You can scoff and laugh at me for saying it, but hopelessness is not a life sentence. It passes.
Second, like everything worth having, hope does not come easy. Hope is hard work that takes practice. Many describe the first Sunday of Advent as representing the expectation felt in anticipation of the coming Messiah. I don’t want us to take that too literally right now, because I don’t want you to interchange hope with excitement. Excitement is like fireworks, bright and arresting. I believe that hope, the real deal, is a lot more subdued.
When I get home in December from my long and dark drive back from work, I drop my bag at the door, overwhelmed by the oppressive darkness of the season. The climb up the stairs feels insurmountable. My body will not warm up for twenty minutes. Where will I find the energy to do the bare minimum of cooking a nutritious dinner, cleaning the kitchen afterward, and prepping for another just as long and just as dark day less than twelve hours away?
I don’t know where I’ll find this energy. But putting one foot in front of the other, I climb each step to my room. I reach the entrance of my bedroom and sigh—deep from the belly. My hands and feet start to warm; maybe my nose will catch up too.
I don’t turn on the overhead lights because all their brightness will reveal is what I cannot face right now: the unmade bed that I left in a hurry in the morning, my cold coffee in a mug on the nightstand, the old makeup brush on the carpet floor. Plus, I don’t need the overhead lights now.
Even in the dark, I know what I’m looking for.
I feel around on my nightstand until my hand hits a wood-wick candle and a pack of matches. The flare doesn’t catch the first or second time (it never does), but on the third the match alights and I lower it to the wick. It lights the room just enough for me to find and change into my comfort clothes. My arms and legs have now warmed up and I no longer shiver. To keep the endorphins coming, I take this moment to make my bed. The old coffee and makeup brush can wait. Inviting as ever, I lay back on my bed and the small flame in the wood-wick candle crackles.
It’s not fireworks, but it will last through the night.
Marina Reis is a Senior Project Manager who has worked at Word Alive Press since 2017. She graduated from the University of Winnipeg in 2015 with a Bachelor of Arts in English.
]]>When I work with clients, one of the most common editing notes I find myself giving is that an idea hasn’t been established clearly enough.
Let’s look at some examples. Perhaps I’m working on a novel and we’re in the third to last chapter of the book when all of a sudden some guy named Peter shows up at the main character’s front door and the two have a short but plot-critical conversation.
Wait, who’s Peter?
“How could you not remember?” the author asks me later. “I mentioned him! Back in Chapter Two, when we were talking Aunt Susan’s family tree. Remember? Her first husband had a nephew she really liked? Peter!”
Okay, so here’s what happened. The author mentioned Aunt Susan’s first husband’s nephew Peter, but it only came up one time. One sentence in a book of thousands of sentences, and a sentence that didn’t seem to pertain much to the story at hand—at least, it didn’t seem to pertain to it at the time.
Is it reasonable that the reader should have deeply internalized this small detail, in anticipation of it potentially coming back two hundred pages later?
In short, no. You can’t expect that the reader is going to have a perfect memory of all these minor details. Your knowledge of the book you’re writing is encyclopaedic. The reader’s knowledge is much more cursory. And that’s normal.
Another example. Let’s say I’m editing a Bible study of the book of Job. In an early chapter, the author lays out ten takeaways regarding the deal made in heaven’s throne room between God and Satan pertaining to Job’s suffering.
A hundred pages later, the author discovers that he needs to refer back to one of those takeaways, but she only mentions it obliquely, in passing, assuming that the reader will put the pieces together and know what she’s talking about.
Rather, the reader is left confused, unable to figure out what the author means. Instead of strengthening the reader’s understanding, the failed callback has had the opposite effect.
Which brings us back to the question we started with today: how frequently do you have to say something before someone remembers it?
As I mentioned, this is a problem for all communicators, not just writers, so let’s look for help in a different medium. Have you ever listened to an advertisement on the radio and noticed how repetitive it sounded? The ad may only be a few seconds long—no more, no less—and it has to get its message across efficiently.
For the advertiser, the most important detail is probably the phone number or website. Which is why the ad may conspire, awkwardly, to repeat those items several times.
“Need your carpets cleaned? Call A1 Carpet Cleaners today, 555-678-9000, for great deals and fast service! That’s 555-678-9000. Don’t this chance pass you by! Give us a call now—555-678-9000.”
Chances are they’ll be mentioned three times. Once isn’t enough. Repeating the concept helps to solidify it in a person’s memory. Three times gets that concept into the proverbial end zone.
You can repeat an idea beyond this, but it can start to become an irritant. The person you’re communicating with may feel condescended to, thinking, “Yeah, yeah, enough. I get it already.”
So when you’re writing a book, you will want to pay close attention to this principle.
First, identify your core ideas, the elements you want the reader to really internalize. It’s a bit of a cliched question, but a helpful one: “If you only remember a few things from this book—or today’s speech, or a conference call, or a college course, etc.—make sure it’s (fill-in-the-blank).”
Second, be sure those concepts are mentioned three times. The first time in full, exhaustive detail. The second time, mentioning enough detail for the reader to recall it. And the third time, in shortened form, usually as part of an overall summary.
Third, make sure these references are spread out around the book more or less evenly, so that the reader won’t have the opportunity to forget the message. Spacing out the repetitions also has the effect of disguising the underlying formula.
If you’ve got something important to say, make sure you’re saying it three times. Landing in this sweet spot will help you to become a better, more effective and efficient communicator in every area.
Evan Braun is a full-time author and editor. He has authored three novels, the first of which, The Book of Creation, was shortlisted in two categories at the 2012 Word Awards. He has released two sequels, The City of Darkness (2013) and The Law of Radiance (2015), completing the series. Braun is an experienced professional editor, and has worked with Word Alive Press authors since 2006. He is also a regular contributor at The Fictorians, a popular writing blog.
]]>Lorie Hartshorn loves Jesus, her family, and the local church. Lorie is an international speaker, author, pastor, and TV Host. Her primary passion is to make Jesus known. She loves to see people grow in faith and experience spiritual freedom.
Lorie worked for twenty-one years in the field of education, both as a teacher and director of development. She was the director of advancement for EQUIP Leadership Canada, founded by Dr. John C. Maxwell, training leaders worldwide. Lorie is a Co-host of the 700 Club Canada TV Show and she also served as the pastor of adult ministries at Sanctus Church. She has a master’s degree in theological studies from Tyndale Seminary, where she received a Distinguished Alumni award in 2022 for the impact of her work nationally. Her teaching can be found on The 700 Club Canada, 100 Huntley Street, Right Now Media, and Sanctus Church.
Sunshine, books, cottage, food, and conversation bring her joy! Lorie’s Bible study, Finding Freedom, brings hope to many as a wake-up call to the reality of spiritual warfare and the power of prayer.
Q: Can you tell us a little bit about Found?
A: I wrote this book to empower the body of Christ to step into their identity, live out their God-given purpose, and provide hope for those seeking deeper meaning in their life. In Found, you’ll encounter stories of people who have found their identity and purpose. When you surrender yourself to the One who made you and knows everything about you—our loving God, expressed in the person of Jesus—the natural result is discovering your true identity and purpose. I believe it’s the only way to live fully alive.
Q: What led you to write a book about identity?
A: The topic of identity is a personal one because I have experienced several identity crises. I share my story and the story of others living powerless lives due to not knowing who they are. Like me, every person can discover the power of their identity and start living a life of purpose and meaning. To know what it means to be an image bearer of God in this world and to take hold of the power available to us in Christ. Jesus came to restore all that was lost in the garden so we could find ourselves once again. What was lost in the garden is found in Jesus! We don’t have to live defeated by sin or the power of Satan because of Jesus. You don’t have to wait until heaven to experience the truth and power of your true identity. Our broken world is desperate to see followers of Jesus living victorious lives so they, too, will find their true selves and all that God has for them.
Q: What are the main misconceptions about identity?
A: Our world is in a chaotic time where people are looking for answers to the question of Identity. Identity is how you define yourself. Who am I and what is the purpose of my life continue to be the questions of identity. Daily in the media, we see stories of people defining themselves by their status, stuff, gender, sexuality, or politics. There’s a worldwide identity crisis with no ground for people to stand on. We are defining ourselves by things that are temporary at best. Even those who identify as Christians, or followers of Jesus, have lost their sense of identity. We don’t know who we are as children of God and followers of Christ. Perhaps you struggle with sin or thoughts that defeat you and feel there is no way out. This kind of living is a travesty both for Christians and for a watching world. If being a Christian is just a ticket to heaven, this leaves us powerless and missing out on all God has for us. This is why Jesus came. To show us who we are and to provide us with everything we need to live in our true identity and purpose. I believe that we find our identity and purpose when we take hold of all that is available to us from Jesus.
Q: What makes this an important topic right now?
A: We’re all trying to find ourselves, to discover who we are. Identity relates to our self-image, self-esteem, and individuality. It is, in essence, how we see or define ourselves. Political movements all over the world leverage identity for power and recognition. Do you identify with the left or the right? Protests, court cases, media messages, and social media feeds are fueled by people’s passion and activism over identity issues. Gender fluidity has raised the question, can you choose your gender? Identity pronouns have become a way to define your sexuality and how you relate to the world. Identity is a keyword in our culture as people from every walk of life look for answers to the questions of who we are. We look to our families first, whether it’s biological or adoptive. We look at geography. We look to our status, our poverty or wealth, and who our friends are. We look to our talents and skills. Or perhaps we look to our history, both the good and bad. What we’ve done and things done to us affect how we view ourselves. All these factors have become identity markers and critical conversations in our time. People are desperate for answers to their identity.
Q: What do you want readers to take away from your book?
A: There are two key things:
The message of Found will transform your life. When you take hold of the truth of who you are and all that is available, you will find the life you always dreamed of and change how you live. God is not holding out on you; you don’t have to wait until heaven to experience power and purpose. Everything available to Jesus is available to you right now. You just need to take hold of it and live like you believe it.
Q: How can readers get the most out of this book?
A: Included with the purchase of the book is an accompanying Video Series with a Reflection Guide to take you on a deeper journey of discovery and learning. It includes an 8-session Video Teaching Series with an accompanying Reflection Guide for individuals or groups.
Find and follow Lorie, here:
Facebook
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Website
700ClubCanada
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Courageous Living
I pictured her bouncing from one wall to another trying to keep up with my thoughts as they leap and bound. I cringed thinking about my poor friend getting dizzy in my swirling thoughts or getting lost in my jumbled thoughts. I wondered about her jumping in and out of the ongoing conversations I have with myself. Not to mention being inundated with echoes of rehearsed conversations I’ve had with others, set on rewind.
I wonder if she’d see the complexity of some of my thoughts and ponderings. Would she shake her head at my overthinking, rethinking, and often reliving events in my mind? Would she be surprised by the moments I battle my thoughts of self-defeat, doubt, and second-guessing? I hope she’d be able to overlook my forgetfulness.
Would she see the world through my eyes? Would she need sunglasses to help diffuse the vast array of full-colour activity? And, what about all the empty spaces scattered around my mind kept accessible for mindless daydreaming?
She’d possibly be amazed as I easily pluck a scene from my life that is planted somewhere in the depths of my mind. She may relish my instant recall of a song, melody, or lyric from the repertoire I’ve stored since I was a very young child.
Would she understand me even more than she already does if she was to climb inside my mind and know everything that makes me who I am? Would she still like me if she did?
I envision my friend exploring the creative part of my brain that especially comes to life when prompted and probed, or when a seed is planted there that gives food for thought. She would likely be amused and perhaps even overwhelmed as the floodgates open and not only fill my mind with random thoughts but also pour out of me as quickly and profusely as they entered.
I can picture her being exhausted as I overanalyze in my attempts to make some sense of my thoughts; working and reworking them, thinking and rethinking them, writing and rewriting them. You see, in my mind’s eye, there are always better ways to say or write or communicate things, and most certainly a better way to approach things. Therefore, my mind is under a constant state of revision (just ask my editor about that one). Sometimes I can be my own worst enemy as I continually unravel and piece together my thoughts over and over again. As a matter of fact, sometimes my thoughts should really be kept to myself.
Would my friend see the transformation going on as my mind is constantly being renewed (Rom. 12:2)? Would she see the benefits of meditating on God’s Word day and night (Josh. 1:8) through the windows of my mind? What about all the lessons and rebukes and corrections and training in righteousness that have been bore into my mind throughout my walk with God (2 Tim. 3:16)? Would they all be evident?
I would love it if she could catch a glimpse of how God’s Word comes alive in me, ignites my spirit, and sets my mind on fire until it can no longer be contained. Much like Jeremiah’s experience, “His word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot” (Jer. 20:9, NIV).
I would be thrilled to know she’s dug deep into the reservoir of impressionable verses, thought-provoking passages, relatable Bible stories, and applicable principles to discover the wealth of eternal treasures I have hidden (Ps. 119:11). And, regardless of my flawed thinking at times, that she’d see how I continually seek to love the Lord with all my heart, soul, strength, and mind and have sought out opportunities to impress them upon my children and grandchildren in accordance with Deuteronomy 6:5-9.
It would be a rich blessing if, while my friend is exploring my mind, she would sit with me for a while and we could be mutually blessed by the streams of living water as they overflow into our lives (Jer. 17:7-8). I pray that she would experience the refreshing, wisdom, and joy that the Word of God has implanted there in my mind (Ps. 19:7-10). Above anything else, my prayer would be that my friend would find Jesus amidst my musings and listen in on how He and I so fondly talk about her.
In her examination of my mind, I trust she would see beyond my thoughts and have a glimpse into the profound thoughts of my Saviour toward her. As the Psalmist declares, “How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand,” (Ps. 139:17-18). Now, that’s something to think about!
Lest someone were to climb inside your mind, here’s some food for thought: fill it with things of the Lord and be ever mind-full of His presence. “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (Phil. 4:8, NIV).
Lisa Elliott is an inspirational speaker and award-winning author of The Ben Ripple, Dancing in the Rain, and A Ministry Survival Guide. She’s also a writer for Just Between Us Magazine, theStory, and Good Ground. She and her pastor-husband, David, have four children (three on earth, one in heaven) and serve the Lord together in Ottawa, ON, Canada.
]]>As many of you already know, gratitude is a practice that has countless benefits. It has been correlated with improved mood, sleep, and immunity, as well as more satisfying relationships and a general sense of well-being. Practicing gratitude also changes our biology. Relaying gratitude to someone releases a hormone called oxytocin, which creates a closer sense of connection to others. This can have major impacts on our mental and physical health. Healthy connections correlate with healthy lives.
Not only is gratitude a beneficial and pragmatic practice for our lives, but it is also a way to connect spiritually with God, the Source of all good things. Seeing the goodness in our lives is identifying the fingerprints of God in our lives. And seeing someone is the first step to knowing them. Gratitude is a spiritual practice that not only yields physical and social benefits but is also one that brings us closer to God. Perhaps this is why Paul wrote, “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, NIV).
But how do we cultivate a gratitude practice? Feeling grateful in the moment is wonderful, but like any practice, you need to, well, practice. One of the best ways to do this is through writing out what you are grateful for at the end of each day in a gratitude journal.
Writing out your gratitude has many benefits. Writing it out is a tactile experience that raises a metaphorical Ebenezer in the form of written words on a page. It makes the fleeting thoughts of gratitude in your mind more permanent and visible and as such, it helps you to remember what you have been grateful for, sparking more gratitude in the moment. You can go back to your journal and be inspired by all the good and beautiful things God has placed in your life. If you cultivate this practice daily for a long time, you will create a continuous list of things for which you can praise God and remember God’s faithfulness. By doing this, we become witnesses to the things God is doing in our lives and in the world.
What if we don’t feel particularly grateful? The great thing about a practice is it doesn’t matter how you feel. You just do it anyway. If you can simply think of things to be grateful for, even if it’s just the air you are able to breathe, it primes you to find other things to be grateful for and increases your sensitivity to the goodness around you. You may not feel grateful in the moment, but gratitude, like love, is not always a feeling, but a commitment and a practice.
A pro tip for the days you’re not feeling grateful is to take the time to read past entries and remember the reasons why you were grateful for the things you wrote down. If you feel too tired to come up with new things to be grateful for, simply write down some old ones you’ve looked back on and remembered. You can be grateful for things in the past, present, or future. You do not need to be bound specifically to the present.
As we build our repertoire of gratitude, our perspective will likely change. We may become better at identifying the good in our lives. We may feel gratitude more frequently. Ultimately, the consistency of this practice points to the goodness of God, and practicing gratitude helps us to see more of the good things God has done, is doing, and will do. Our perception or ability to feel the goodness in our lives may wax and wane, but God’s outpouring of goodness never changes.
So, let me challenge you today. For thirty days, find a notebook and write down one to three things you are grateful for each day. At the end of the thirty days, reflect on the process and how you’ve changed, looking through all your entries. At the very least, you’ll have a tangible record of the many things you are thankful for. And perhaps, by grace, your eyes will be opened to more of the goodness that surrounds you each day.
Haeon Kang is a Project Manager with Word Alive Press. She has a master's degree in theology and loves to read, create art, and play with her dog and bird during her down time.
]]>Singer-songwriter Matt Papa calls this action “resonation.” We do it almost involuntarily. It’s a method of communicating that a message has been heard.
Children are a delightful form of resonators. They’re honest and speak both in words and with their whole bodies, from their smiles to their toes. When they’ve enjoyed your message, you’ll know!
This makes school visits a rewarding time for an author who comes with a meaningful message.
Classroom visits can be valuable for an author in a few ways, so be sure to set yourself up for success.
I begin with a phone call, avoiding busy times like school pickup and dropoff. I’ve found that around 2:00 p.m. is a sweet spot. I ask the receptionist if the school might have any interest in an author visit. Then I ask if I might send my first email to the office to request the visit.
If they want me to visit, I’ll send an email template that the office can use to tell the parents about me. This email lets the parents know who I am, what my religious beliefs are, and offers a link to my books. I always include the purchase link in each email.
After reading my book, I use colouring page printouts from my book’s colouring companion as part of my activities.
If the office is willing to email the parents before my visit, and even presell books through the office, I can sign books for those students on the day of my visit. The office will handle presales and etransfer the total to me before the day of my visit.
Another option is to leave some books in the office for a couple of weeks afterward so that I won’t need to ship more copies if any are bought. This is a win-win for everyone!
You can let people know where your next book-signing will be so they can come see you again and have their book signed later.
For example, I’ll have a table at an event in Oshawa, Ontario this November called Soul Café. Although this singer-songwriter event has an entry fee, I’ve arranged for children who bought my book after a school visit to come in for free if they’re there to get a book signed.
My goal for school visits is to build my email list. I have a fun incentive that I tell the parents about through a take-home memo, as well as a bookmark that I print on cardstock at home.
Through this incentive, I’m able to ask for permission to send future emails. Because it’s difficult to communicate my entire message in one book, the email list allows me to give my audience a little more “by extension,” giving them an opportunity to connect with me and my message further.
Not every school is able to pay me for my time. I suggest five dollars per student, if they’re able, to cover the cost of my gas and any supplies. If not, I’m happy to come anyway so that I can continue to build connections with families in my area.
In the classroom setting, the urge for students to participate is strong. When reading my book, HONK! A Tale of Praise, I give my kids a phrase that they can keep in their mouths until the right time.
I pinpoint a part of the story when the lightbulb will turn on for them. At the crucial page turn, before they see their phrase pasted across the double spread, I slow down my reading speed. We fill our lungs with air and go “HONK! HONK! HONK!” Just like it says in the words of my story!
Because of this phrase, not only do they tell me that they’re ahead of the plot but they’re able to synchronize their appreciation with the peacocks’ praise to God.
Here are a few other ideas to help your school visits go smoothly.
If you’re able, it’s a good idea to visit schools in the same area all in one day. Also, having a good relationship with the local schools will set you up to be a preferential choice for future author visits.
I have plans to travel this year to see family and friends for personal reasons. I’ll be calling the schools in their area so I can take meet new audiences without having to increase my travel costs.
Two summers ago, I also sold my books at a camp. The children took the books home with them. An entire year later, I was approached at the same camp by a little girl who had read my book. All that time, the story had kept resonating inside her! I was so blessed by this precious encounter. I realized that although we, as writers, may be a little blinded by our own human flaws, it’s a huge pleasure for children to have the opportunity to chat with an author.
Approach your school visits with a desire to serve, share a life-changing message, and build community. This will help to ensure that your visits are successful.
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Sandra Tadros Guirguis is a passionate Orthodox Christian, dedicated wife, and loving mother of three children. She resides in Toronto, Canada where she has built a fulfilling career as a healthcare professional, fitness expert, and public/corporate speaker.
Sandra works with patients and clients to improve their sleep, eating habits, and physical activity. She also assists those living with chronic diseases and helps them to thrive.
As a public wellness speaker, Sandra inspires others to live abundantly and find joy in their everyday lives. She is a sought-after youth and young adult speaker, encouraging them to live their best lives in service to Jesus. She is a strong advocate for mental health awareness and support, using her platform to break down barriers and foster open conversations.
In her free time, she enjoys reading, baking, exercising, and engaging in spirited boardgame sessions with her family. She is the proud owner of STG Wellness, which has been featured in prominent lifestyle magazines.
Having navigated the difficult journey of grief, Sandra connects with others who have experienced loss, offering her support and guidance along the way.
This, her debut book, is a culmination of her experiences, expertise, and deep-rooted faith. It serves as a comprehensive guide to wellness, covering topics such as identity, grief support, children, and various aspects of wellness, including stress management, relationships, meditation, mindfulness, exercise, nutrition, gut health, and self-care. In this heartfelt and practical resource, Sandra also shares her perspectives on healing, triggers, moving forward, dating, and discerning Jesus’s will in one’s life.
With a dedication to Jesus at the core of her work, Sandra embarks on this new journey as an author, inviting readers to join her in the pursuit of a well-rounded, abundant life rooted in faith, wellness, and love.
Q: What experiences led you to be passionate about the topic of health and wellness?
A: I have always loved helping people with their health and wellness, which led me to pursue a career as a healthcare professional. I especially love how the interplay of various wellness systems work together.
For example, if I work with a patient or client to improve their sleep by using sleep hygiene strategies, they are thrilled! Not only are they sleeping better, but sleeping well improves the immune system and regulates ghrelin and leptin, the hunger and satiety hormones, so they are better able to manage their nutritional goals. They’re also able to wake up earlier and spend some time in prayer or stillness, setting them up for a better day, and the cycle continues to improve. It’s so beautiful to watch.
Before my husband passed away, I was confident in my place in the world, my identity, and my five- and ten-year plans. His passing shattered everything: my life plan, my identity, my faith, and my health.
Only through God’s grace can I live abundantly with Him. I made it my life mission to share my testimony as well as encourage and support others whether they’ve experienced loss and trauma or simply want to live more abundantly using all the wellness tools I have experienced, professionally and personally.
Q: What’s one key thing you hope readers will learn from this book?
A: One thing I pray readers will learn from my book is the transformative power of resilience and faith in overcoming life’s most painful and challenging obstacles. Additionally, I aim to equip readers with evidence-based strategies and wellness tools, drawing from my extensive professional training.
In the book, we touch on topics such as gut health, sleeping well, nutrition, exercise, faith, and community. These aspects play a vital role in overall wellness and I want readers to discover practical ways to incorporate them in their lives for lasting health and well-being.
Just as I was encouraged with love, prayers, and support during my most difficult days, I would like to provide this same love-filled encouragement to anyone who needs it.
Q: How is the book interwoven with your faith?
A: My Christian faith is deeply and intricately woven into the book, specifically in the context of healing and wellness. I explore the profound connection between spirituality and well-being, highlighting how faith can be a source of strength, resilience, and inner peace. Jesus came so that we may live and live abundantly. We can serve Him and those around us best when we first care for ourselves.
I share how my faith, although it was terribly shaken during my loss, at a time when I experienced a huge sense of betrayal, has continued to be the foundation for my wellness journey. Whether it’s working out to a Spotify mix, gathering for a small group prayer meeting with my Surrender Sisters, or attending liturgy with my family, my faith has continued to enrich my journey. I want to share this with others.
Q: Do you have any advice or helpful hints for new writers?
A: When you feel even the smallest stirrings towards a topic, start making notes. Wherever you are and whatever you’re doing, take a moment to jot down the thought. With time, your passion can fuel your creativity.
Pray. Pray for God to open your heart, ears, and mind. Pray that your work may be given for His glory.
Don’t be discouraged by setbacks, doubt, or rejection. Continually renew your focus and purpose.
For me, I imagined that I was writing this for one person, a dear friend who was going through loss. I poured my heart and every insight I could gather into this book as I remained focused on that one person. The minute I started thinking of what others would think of my book, or trolls, or anything negative, I would hesitate. But as soon as I put my eyes back on Jesus and that one friend I was trying to support, it was easier to remain on track.
Q: Is there anything else of interest that you’d like to share?
A: In my spare time, I love to play spirited board games with my husband and three children (I am remarried and we are a blended family; I particularly like the term blended and blessed). I enjoy anything active, whether it’s swimming, hiking, dancing, or strength training. I love to sing out loud to my favourite worship playlist. I sound a little bit like an ailing seal, but that doesn’t stop me! I also really love to read; it’s the only time when I am able to remain still for very long periods.
Find Sandra Tadros Guirguis online via:
Instagram
Website
You can also hear Sandra in an upcoming radio interview, to be broadcast in Ontario on Life 100.3 on the Get Up & Go Show, 5:30–9:00 a.m., on November 16, 2023.
]]>As I’ve reread the life I’ve lived, pouring my heart out to the Lord on paper, I have seen the power of God’s Word alive and active in me (Heb. 4:12). I’ve borne witness to His divine power that has given me everything I’ve needed for life and godliness (1 Pet. 3:1-8). It’s been rewarding to release my past into God’s hands and, at the same time, build on it toward a hopeful future, forgetting what lies behind and pressing on toward the goal (Phil. 3:13-14). Ultimately, I have recognized the hand of His faithfulness woven throughout the pages of my life. These things I recall, therefore, I have hope. Great is His faithfulness! (Lam. 3:19-25). And, God assures us through the prophet Jeremiah, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” (Jer. 29:11, NIV). That makes my heart happy!
As I’ve read, relived, and remembered, I’ve also been relieved as I recall how each situation or relationship or struggle I’ve faced has been resolved not only for my good but for God’s glory. Even if circumstances haven’t always worked out the way I would have written them. I’ve been reminded of instances where God has stepped in to answer specific prayers, worked out difficult situations, given me wisdom to deal with challenges, and taught me the importance of grace and forgiveness.
I’m in awe to think that by God’s grace, He’s still writing my story. And, if you’re reading this, He’s still writing yours! So, let me assure you, it’s a happy ending! I’ve read the end of the Book!
We have an advantage that those living their stories out in the Bible didn’t have. We have read how their stories unfolded. We’ve seen how David slayed the giant, how Moses parted the Red Sea, and how the apostle Paul lived to tell about many of his adventures. Just think of how it all turned out for each of them.
You see, Bible characters we know and love were in the middle of their story when it was written. They didn’t see things the way we do. They only hoped and believed it would all work out in the end. “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, …” (Heb. 11:13, NIV). As we read the story of redemption from Genesis to Revelation, we know that when all is said and done, it is, indeed, a happy ending!
What a glorious day it will be when we experience the indescribable colours of heaven the way my son, Ben, described them in his last days on earth. Or feast at the banqueting table of the Lamb with the divine cream puffs I watched him enjoy in his “heavenly state.” I can hardly wait for the day when we gather around the throne of our Lord and King and sing along with the angels Ben’s favourite hymn, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty.” Ultimately, what joy will flood our souls at that great family reunion when we see our Saviour face to face.
There is a strength that comes with knowing everything will be okay. “For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; ‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’ ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes’” (Rev. 7:17, NIV). “‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Rev. 21:4, NIV).
Yes, it is a happy ending! Knowing that, allows us the freedom to release our future into the Author of our life’s script as He writes the next chapter of our life. Amen!
Lisa Elliott is an inspirational speaker and award-winning author of The Ben Ripple, Dancing in the Rain, and A Ministry Survival Guide. She’s also a writer for Just Between Us Magazine, The Story, and Good Ground. She and her pastor-husband, David, have four children (three on earth, one in heaven) and serve the Lord together in Ottawa, ON, Canada.
]]>One of those things, for a Christian, might be reverence. Excessive reference? Now, this may sound a bit blasphemous, but please bear with me.
I should clarify that reverence on its own is not a problem. Can you revere God too much in your life? That’s a stretch.
Rather, I’m talking about performative reverence. It’s like a Christian form of virtue signaling.
In writing, this manifests most obviously with the deity pronoun—should you capitalize it? There are different opinions and positions on this, but at the end of the day it’s up to the author.
I would encourage you to click on that link and read all about this important question, but the main takeaway is that there’s no hard and fast rule. Want to capitalize the deity pronoun? Great! Don’t want to capitalize it? Also great! Capitalizing the deity pronoun is often a means of expressing reverence for God, but not capitalizing it doesn’t indicate that an author doesn’t revere God. After all, most translations of the Bible actually don’t capitalize these pronouns. By capitalizing the deity pronoun, are we saying that we’re holier than most Bibles?
This is where we get to the idea of performative reverence. Capitalization in Christian writing can sometimes be a type of performance without underlying substance.
I’ve used the deity pronoun as an example of optional capitalization, but of course, the choice to capitalize the deity pronoun is well within the norm. Where my eyebrow starts to raise is when we go further afield.
There are authors who insist on capitalizing a host of other words as a matter of preference, even though there’s no clear stylistic basis to do so.
As an editor, I tend to push back a little when authors want to capitalize interrogative pronouns. This means that when “who” or “whom” refers to God, they capitalize it. This is starting to venture outside the norm, but it’s borderline. The main reason not to do? It isn’t necessary—but more importantly, the more capitalization you use, the messier the text starts to look.
Other cases of borderline capitalization in Christian writing would include “word,” whether it’s in reference to the Bible or in other contexts. Think: the Word of God, or receiving a word of knowledge. Should it be capitalized? And in a similar vein, how about “scripture”? The context is similar.
How about “kingdom”? The English language provides no justification for capitalizing this in most contexts, but it’s allowable as a matter of preference.
How about “heaven”? Again, typically this would not be set apart through capitalization.
How about “church”? Sometimes authors will want to draw a distinction between the universal Church and the individual church congregation. Either way, the key, I say, is to make sure you’re at least being consistent.
Although a good argument of mine is always that it’s easier to consistently not capitalize. Opting out of capitalizing these words provides fewer opportunities to make mistakes.
In any event, so far these have all been common words which many Christian authors hem and haw over. Nothing crazy.
Now let’s go even further into the weeds.
Some people like to capitalize “biblical,” even though that’s an adjective and wouldn’t ever get the uppercase treatment. Same with “scriptural.”
Should “cross” be capitalized? How about “body,” as in the body of Christ? Or how about “creation”? How about “will,” as in God’s will? How about the various titles of the Holy Spirit—healer, helper, teacher? How about the “vine”? Or the “master”?
From an editorial perspective, I understand the reason: reverence. And there’s nothing wrong with demonstrating reverence. But drawing so much attention to too many special cases can get to be a scourge to the eye. It can start to look messy.
Now let’s head out to the extreme fringes. I’ve worked with authors who insisted on capitalizing a whole other category of words: “glory,” “honour,” “majesty,” “power,” etc., when they’re used to describe the nature of God.
The justification for these is especially flimsy.
Also on the fringes is an intriguing case of Christian decapitalization. A surprising number of authors stridently maintain that “satan,” even though it’s used as a proper noun (in other words, a name) should not be capitalized, even when it starts a sentence, because they don’t want to give even the slightest glory to the devil.
Which I get, kind of. Except that I don’t subscribe to the notion that following the fundamental rules of grammar constitutes an act of glorifying the devil. In the same way that not capitalizing the deity pronoun doesn’t indicate a lack of reverence to God, capitalizing Satan doesn’t indicate reverence for Satan.
So how much should personal preference outweigh grammar and the standard conventions of English usage?
Well, as an editor, you won’t be surprised to learn that I tend to prefer adhering pretty closely to the standard conventions of English usage. When you’re driving a car, you should stick to the rules of the road; when you’re writing a book, you should stick to the rules of the language—more or less.
The more you disregard grammar and insist on following personal preference, the more these preferences start to seem performative. My advice? Keep it simple. Your reader isn’t judging you.
Evan Braun is a full-time author and editor. He has authored three novels, the first of which, The Book of Creation, was shortlisted in two categories at the 2012 Word Awards. He has released two sequels, The City of Darkness (2013) and The Law of Radiance (2015), completing the series. Braun is an experienced professional editor, and has worked with Word Alive Press authors since 2006. He is also a regular contributor at The Fictorians, a popular writing blog.
]]>Kids need a daily practice of connecting with God just like adults do. In this devotional for kids, you will explore eighty-seven Bible stories with five interactive devotions created for each week. Kids will act, dance, draw, imagine, memorize, and sing their way to a better relationship with God and a knowledge of His Word. This devotional will help kids to see that connecting with God can be fun and inspiring, and will teach kids how to be more reflective about Scripture and their own decisions.
Benjamin is left behind from a fishing trip because he is too little. Zaide assures him he is never too little to help God. One special day, Jesus shows Benjamin that Zaide was right. No one is too little to help God. In this fresh take on the story of the five loaves and two fish (Matthew 14:13-21), kids will learn that the small gifts they can offer are transformed and multiplied by God.
In this inspiring book, follow Fuzzby the peacock as he discovers his voice! He can’t seem to sing like the other birds. He can’t tweet, or chirp, or string together a pleasing tune. He can only honk. But through meeting someone very special, Fuzzby discovers that his praise is beautiful just the way it is. This book is great for teaching kids about their unique gifts, even if these gifts don’t fit into what they see around them. It’s sure to help kids learn that when they praise God, God smiles bigger and bigger, even if the way they praise is not like the way other people praise.
A sparrow's nest is broken but her egg is hatching! She hurries to choose a new home for her baby, to find the best and most loving nest. What will she do when she finds the best nest? This emotional book about adoption, loss, and new life is a beautiful allegory that explores the journey of one mother who must give up her baby to a new loving nest. It’s sure to help kids gain a better understanding of the complex circumstances around adoption and the emotions that often surface when this difficult decision is made.
Eva Beckie is a promising young figure skater pursuing a competitive path when she’s struck down by an injury that takes her off the ice. While in recovery, she is presented with a unique opportunity to spend time with her grandparents. As she meanders down memory lane together with Grandpa Mac and Grammie, Eva learns all about perseverance, courage, determination, and her faith. Aimed at older kids, this is a chapter book that teaches kids about perseverance in the face of difficulty and about meeting life where it’s at.
Visit our Word Alive Press Bookstore to pick up your copies and explore more kids’ titles!
]]>In Grade Five, my schoolteacher assigned the class to write a short story. I came up with a story about a gang of thieves who used my grandparents’ abandoned two-story house in the south pasture as their meeting place and hideout. That story grew into something of a book, and my teacher was very encouraging. I sure wish I’d kept that scribbler, but it got trashed at the end of the school year.
My interest in writing remained as I grew older. I took some writing classes while working on my BA with an English major. I also participated in a couple of community-offered creative writing classes. One was with Manitoba author George Lalor, who singled me out for special encouragement. He seemed to think I had potential.
I wrote quite a few short stories, often reflecting a spiritual theme. Several times I memorized and then recited one at our church.
For a few years, my writing waned as my creative outlet turned to needle arts. I designed several cross-stitch patterns that were published in the Crafts Plus and Country Woman magazines, as well as a couple of newspapers.
Not long after we moved to Dalmeny, Saskatchewan, near Saskatoon, the Lord called me to establish a Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) class. I had said that if I ever wrote a book, it was going to be about the questions God asks in the Bible.
Well, one morning a co-leader presented me with an advertisement for a book-writing contest, saying that she wanted me to write the book and enter the contest. I thought about it for a minute and then replied, “Okay, I will.”
I did, and lo and behold, it made the shortlist! That was in 2006. With Word Alive Press, I published my first book, When God Asks You…
I meant to write more along those lines, but eventually the project fizzled. Teaching the class, marrying off our children, and making quilts took up all my time. Writing was reserved for helping a few university students tune up their essays.
Around 2017, bored with everything, I decided that I wanted something new to do. Without any better ideas, I settled on writing again, this time challenging myself to write a novel. I returned to a concept that had rattled around in my brain for years. A couple of seasons later, I entered that novel in another book-writing contest. It didn’t make the shortlist this time, but the judge sent back very positive feedback nonetheless. I kept writing, partly because my beta readers clamoured for more and because the story took on a life of its own.
Q: What inspired you to write this book and series?
A: I wrote Rock Bottom based on an image that stuck with me from a black-and-white movie I saw as a youngster. It was a cheerless scene of a man who had returned to his roots and found everything derelict. This story is how I imagined he would reset his life going forward. Once I reached the first resolution, I realized that I had to keep going, because some of the mysteries I had set up weren’t resolved. That took me to three volumes. Besides that, I had (unintentionally) created a community of characters in which something was going on for everyone. Hence, a series.
Q: What do you aim for in your novels?
A: I hope to give my readers a book that is compelling—as in thought-provoking or convicting, and heart-warming—and fun to read, along with containing a few warm fuzzies. I hope to do such a good job that the book will be recommended to others and passed around.
Q: How do you go about writing?
A: My station is a big, comfy armchair with my laptop on a TV tray in front of me. On both sides I have tables laden with books, Bibles, an iPad tablet, and sundry other things I need in arm’s reach. When I’m stuck, I hang over a jigsaw puzzle on the dining room table. While my hands are busy with that, my mind turns over and listens to where the story needs to go next. Insight comes eventually. And I don’t write without first asking the Lord to partner with me.
Q: Do you have any advice for other authors?
A: I’ve learned that inspiration comes while you’re writing. Start writing with your seed idea and a loose outline… and don’t be surprised when wonderful twists and turns show up.
I’ve had to learn to comfortably accept being in two places at once all the time. In my case, part of me is chronically living with my characters in Minitonas, day and night. As for the other part of me, it can be found in the real world of Saskatchewan—doing household chores, fixing meals, having grandkids around, and so forth. So far, being in two places at once hasn’t given me a headache.
Q: What are you currently working on?
A: The fourth book of The Minitonas Diaries, which is already titled No Turning Back. I thought the series was done after book three, since I’d resolved all the outstanding mysteries and complications. I began to write an epilogue suggesting what the future would look like for several of the main characters—and then I saw, with bold clarity, that I had inadvertently set up another scenario for another story featuring different main characters from the same community. Now I’m running with it, and having fun too. It occurs to me that this series might just keep on going like the batteries in the commercial…
Q: How does your faith play a role in your writing?
A: It plays a big part. From a spiritual perspective, I have two aims. One is to impart wisdom for living as an older woman teaching the younger women (and men) as directed in Titus 2:3–4. I can do this through several of my characters. Secondly, through story and characters I can pass along the Gospel and therefore add my chip to Jesus’s Great Commission. Having said that, it’s important to me to try and do this without resorting to “Christianese.”
Q: Can you think of anything else that may be of interest to your readers?
A: I live with Michael, my husband of forty-nine years, on an acreage located fifteen minutes northwest of Saskatoon. We have four married children and nine grandchildren.
I was first instructed to climb up into an elevated large coffin-like structure, fully clothed and face-down. I was then told to position myself in such a way as to fit my nose and mouth within a small opening on a cushioned headrest on this, so-called, massage table. Next, I was instructed to place my arms on armrests located on either side with my hands toward my head. Before I knew it, a large lid was being closed over top of me. Once closed, it locked my head and hands into place. I worked to put the doomed feeling aside that I was being held hostage and took a deep breath in a helpless attempt to relax into this thirty-minute experience. Then, with a hollow moaning sound, something like a soft, human-sized water bag slowly worked its way up my body, much like a jellified rolling pin. Beginning at my feet, it maneuvered up my back toward my neck and back down to my feet again. Repeat and repeat again.
As I lay inside this mumbling monster, suddenly, the air seemed to be sucked out of my lungs and my body broke into a profuse sweat. That was the moment I realized that I was being buried alive in a life-size waterbed that had taken on a life of its own!
Panic-stricken, I said to whoever might be within earshot, “Please get me out of here!” The machine, however, was in full motion and drowned out my voice. So, I said it again, with a little (or maybe a lot) more emphasis, “SOMEONE GET ME OUT OF THIS THING!” My husband, who I learned later, thankfully happened to be standing at my side, immediately relayed the message to the woman who had entrapped me. She told him that, unfortunately, that wasn’t possible. The machine was programmed and couldn’t be interrupted mid-motion. To which I said, if my in-that-moment-of-hysteria mind serves me well, something like, “I don’t care about interrupting the stupid machine’s programmed treatment. I need out! NOW!”
Either by some miracle or perhaps out of a sense of desperation to save my life, much less to save her job, the woman was somehow able to deprogram the machine and release my traumatized and trembling body from its imprisonment.
Have you ever had an experience like that? A time when you felt suffocated? Stifled? Closed in? Trapped? Cornered? Dare I say, claustrophobic?
Sometimes life can feel like that, can’t it? The walls close in, decisions have to be made, expectations mount, deadlines encroach, people invade our space, pressures weigh upon our shoulders, voices of the past drown us, and demands and responsibilities overwhelm us.
The Bible has much to say about these confining conditions. In 1 Samuel 13:6 we read, “When the Israelites saw that their situation was critical and that their army was hard pressed, they hid in caves and thickets, among the rocks, and in pits and cisterns” (NIV). Talk about cramped quarters. Think about Jesus in Gethsemane, ‘the place of crushing,’ with the weight of the world upon His shoulders. In his letter to the church in Corinth the Apostle Paul, speaking from personal experience, wrote about being hard-pressed on every side (2 Cor. 4:8).
So, what can we do to create breathing space when we’re put into tight situations? Simply, BREATHE:
Boundary setting. There is freedom within bounds, especially within the Lord’s bounds. “LORD, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance” (Ps.16:5-6, NIV).
Remove distractions. They can not only lead us away from spending time with the Lord, they also bind us and blind us from the freedom we so desire. “I am afraid, however, that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your simple and pure devotion to Christ” (2 Cor.11:2-4b, NIV). Taking fifteen minutes to declutter our living space helps us better focus our attention on Him.
Explore your options. Making a plan, listing our goals, and setting some dates can serve rather than restrict us. It not only helps us determine our to-do list, but also reveals and makes room for events, people, and dates that are important to us. However, hold them loosely as you lay them out before the Lord. Remember, “We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps” (Prov. 16:9, NLT).
Act on your thoughts. Sometimes, pressures mount, and walls close in because of our own procrastination. Rather than simply thinking, put your thoughts into action. Don’t wait to feel good before you do something; do it, and you’ll feel good. Just do it! That’s the Nike principle. Nike is Greek for “overcomer” and is mentioned several times in the Book of Revelation written “to him who overcomes.” 1 John 5:4-5 (NIV) says, “…for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.”
Take your thoughts, your cares, your offenses, your relationships, and anything that is cluttering your mind, hence, clogging up your life to Jesus. In particular, forgiveness sets the prisoner free, and that prisoner could very well be you! “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5, NIV).
Humble yourself before the Lord. Ask the Lord for His help. Cry out to the Lord. That’s the best place to start! He hears our cries. Psalm 118:5 (NIV) says, "When hard pressed, I cried to the LORD; he brought me into a spacious place.” And, in Psalm 18:19 (NIV) we read, “He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.” Amen!
Edict. God is a God of order. He wants first place in our lives. Therefore, we must prayerfully determine to put the big stones in first and put first things first. Primarily, we must make our relationship with the Lord a priority. Matthew 6:33 (NIV) instructs us to, “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
Are you breathing yet?
Lisa Elliott is an inspirational speaker and award-winning author of The Ben Ripple, Dancing in the Rain, and A Ministry Survival Guide. She’s also a writer for Just Between Us Magazine, theStory, and Good Ground. She and her pastor-husband, David, have four children (three on earth, one in heaven) and serve the Lord together in Ottawa, ON, Canada.
]]>My eyes were quickly drawn to a book I had never heard of before (this is rare, as I pride myself in knowing all new releases and best sellers). In my hurry, I grabbed the book and added it to the stack in my arms.
When I got home, I noticed something odd about the cover; it was off-center. The last letter of the author’s name disappeared around the edge of the case-wrapped cover. Being in the publishing industry, it was my duty to identify the naughty publisher but quickly discovered it was self-published by the author. I was glad for the non-existent publisher’s sake but apprehensive about what awaited me inside the wonky cover. If the front cover was not important enough to perfect, then most likely, the text wasn’t either.
I read the first paragraph twice before trying it out loud. It didn’t make any sense. I skipped it and went to the second paragraph, this one made more sense, but in no way did it relate to the first paragraph. Frustrated, I flipped to the middle of the book, and then to the end. It was unreadable.
I closed the book and stared at the lopsided cover feeling great sympathy for the author. How much time and energy did she spend on her manuscript, trying to perfect it for her readers? How much money did she spend on publishing and printing her book? How many readers would open and close her book experiencing the same disappointment as me? What a waste.
“You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” This quote applies to the cover of every book in every genre. Had I noticed the lopsided cover in the library, I would not have picked it up. I certainly would not have purchased it. A professional cover is vital. It’s the reason a reader takes a second look, clicks on, or picks up a book. Cliché words in the title, an over-used design, or an askew image are unforgivable first impressions that can easily be avoided with professional help.
Likewise, running a manuscript through spell-check is helpful, but does not compare to the expertise gained by having a professional editor. An editor does help with spelling and grammar, but more importantly, they fix the readability of the story. Changing the order of words or simplifying thoughts can make a huge difference to the reader’s interest and comprehension.
There are many life-changing stories that deserve to be published, but publishing is not the objective. Reaching people with the message is. Getting a book into the hands of readers is a great first step, and once you do it’s critical that readers can follow and understand the message. Having a professional editor is crucial in having a book enjoyed and understood by others. Proper editing could be the difference between a book being unreadable or a best seller.
Crystal Hildebrand is a Publishing Assistant at Word Alive Press. She is an avid reader and writer who enjoys coffee, book clubs, and her sensitive wolfhound. Crystal and her husband of 20 years live in rural Manitoba with their two very busy teenagers.
]]>My plan is to take my Bible and one of my journals to my backyard swing every day—reading, reflecting upon, and even re-living moments in time that I’ve faithfully recorded and safely stored for all these years. Even as I write this, I’ve read ten of them—only forty-six more to go!
I began prayer journaling after my youngest daughter was born. At that point in my life, I felt that my family was complete and I sensed it was time to be more intentional about how I spent time with my Heavenly Father. My desire was to record thoughts, scripture, and prayer requests in a conversational way, discussing my personal life, family life, and ministry life with the Lord, writing to Him as if He was sitting right there with me. And, in fact, He was.
As I’ve been reflecting, it’s occurred to me that the Lord and I have covered a lot of territory through the years. Trekking uphill and down; taking unexpected twists and unforeseen turns; trudging across rugged terrain and exploring unchartered vistas; praying for fellow sojourners, partners in ministry, friends, acquaintances, and family members; experiencing struggles and challenges and heartbreaks together as well as enjoying some rich relationships, learning some invaluable lessons, witnessing breath-taking views, and discovering some profound treasures along the way. Together, my Good Shepherd and I have walked through the valley of the shadow of the death of one of my children.
What is striking me, as I reflect on the journey the Lord and I have been on together, is how His Word has spoken personally to me in all the ways so beautifully articulated in Psalm 19:7-11: refreshing my soul, offering me wisdom, giving joy to my heart, enlightening my eyes, calling me to obedience, and warning me so that I will one day reap a reward when I heed it.
It’s evident throughout my journals that the Lord has never failed to meet me right where I’m at in my point of need. He’s used others in my life to encourage me to keep on keeping on. His Holy Spirit has applied salve in places where I need healing and comfort. He’s led me and guided me and assured me of His presence, never leaving nor forsaking me, just as He promised. These things I recall, therefore, I have hope. Great is His faithfulness. (Lam. 3:21)
Some of my journals will only make it as far as the garbage dumpster once I’m done reading and reflecting. Not because they are worthless, but because there are things I’ve recorded that are between the Lord and me. There are also things that don’t need to be remembered or relived or dug up out of the past where I left them.
As for the rest of them, my goal is to pass them on to my three living children. And, I’ve decided not to wait until I’m gone to do so. I know my oldest daughter will find them beneficial as she raises her own four children. There are scriptural guidelines that might suit my son and his wife as they navigate the ministry that God has called them to. There are definitely truths that my youngest daughter will be encouraged by. Who knows, they may one day be passed along to my grandchildren, which is so often encouraged throughout Scripture.
My prayer is that my children and grandchildren will see the thread of God’s faithfulness throughout my life. With that said, I close with the words to a song recorded by Steve Green which inspired me so many years ago to find this reflective way to leave a trail of God’s faithfulness for generations to come:
Find Us Faithful by Jon Mohr
We're pilgrims on the journey of the narrow road,
And those who've gone before us line the way.
Cheering on the faithful, encouraging the weary,
Their lives a stirring testament to God's sustaining grace.
Surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,
Let us run the race not only for the prize,
But as those who've gone before us let us leave to those behind us,
The heritage of faithfulness passed on thru godly lives.
After all our hopes and dreams have come and gone,
And our children sift thru all we've left behind,
May the clues that they discover, and the mem'ries they uncover,
Become the light that leads them, to the road we each must find.
CHORUS:
O may all who come behind us find us faithful,
May the fire of our devotion light their way.
May the footprints that we leave, lead them to believe,
And the lives we live inspire them to obey.
O may all who come behind us find us faithful.
Lisa Elliott is an inspirational speaker and award-winning author of The Ben Ripple, Dancing in the Rain, and A Ministry Survival Guide. She’s also a writer for Just Between Us Magazine, theStory, and Good Ground. She and her pastor-husband, David, have four children (three on earth, one in heaven) and serve the Lord together in Ottawa, ON, Canada.
]]>Every year The Word Guild hosts The Word Awards, a Canadian Christian writing competition that honors the best in Canadian Christian writing. The Word Awards has three main categories: Unpublished Works, Published Works, and Specialty Awards. Within these categories are numerous subcategories based on genre and type of work, and each category is judged by judges who are industry leaders. This competition is an excellent opportunity for writers to gain recognition and receive feedback on their work.
Word Alive Press is proud to have published numerous books that have been entered into the 2023 Word Awards and many of our authors have been shortlisted. This month, we are shining a spotlight on these shortlisted authors and the fantastic work they have done in writing and publishing their books.
Word Alive Press is thrilled to celebrate with the following recognized authors:
Books - Christian Fiction: Children
Strawberry Tea by Susan Reimer
Books - Christian Fiction: Contemporary
Lilly's Promise by Terrie Todd
Books - Christian Fiction: Historical
The Light Keeper by Katherine J. Le Gresley
Emma's Call by Donna Mann
Books - Christian Fiction: Young Adult
Penelope by Susan Reimer
Books - Christian Non-Fiction: Christian Living - Spiritual Formation
Flame of God by Darla Milne
Books - Christian Non-Fiction: Devotional
Cross+Walk by Ron Mahler
Prayers For You by Shireen Spencer
Rebuild, Restore, Renew by Gladys Thompson
Books - Christian Non-Fiction: Inspirational
Captivated by Angilee Clarke
A Ministry Survival Guide by Lisa Elliott
My Father's House by Sterling A. Penney
Books - Christian Non-Fiction: Instructional
Shifting Perspectives by Ruth Esau
Crouching Moses, Hidden Jesus by R.J. Robertson
Books - Christian Non-Fiction: Life Stories - Memoir
No One Brings You a Casserole When Your Husband Goes to Rehab by Leah Grey
God of the Valleys by Janet Williamson
Books - Christian Non-Fiction: Personal Growth
A Ministry Survival Guide by Lisa Elliott
Cross+Walk by Ron Mahler
Rebuild, Restore, Renew by Gladys Thompson
Books - General Market Non-Fiction: Life Stories
People Are Not Your Problem, They Are Your Purpose by Marcia Magee McClelland
Debra Fieguth Social Justice Award
No One Brings You a Casserole When Your Husband Goes to Rehab by Leah Grey
Harvey/Mackey Journalism Award
My Father's House by Sterling Penney
Writer of Colour
Captivated by Angilee Clarke
Prayers For You by Shireen Spencer
Copies of these books may be purchased by clicking on the book title, or by visiting our online bookstore.
Congratulations to everyone who was recognized! The Word Guild will announce the winners of The Word Awards on September 16, 2023.
]]>Actually, you probably don’t quite remember that feeling. It’s hard to put your finger on something that occurs right as you’re losing consciousness.
Another question: do you remember that feeling you got upon reaching the end of the latest chapter of your current novel and literally couldn’t wait to turn the page and start reading the next chapter? What a cliffhanger!
Was the answer to both of these questions the same?
Probably not.
And yet there’s an incredibly strong draw among writers to end scenes with their main character falling asleep.
It’s been a really long, hard day and John is totally exhausted; he closes his eyes and drifts into dreamland.
Sarah just indulged in an extra big lunch, so instead of going out to complete her afternoon errands, she hits the sack, opting to take a well-deserved nap.
Riveting stuff, isn’t it? Bet you can’t wait to turn the page and find out what happens next!
Okay, I’m being a little bit facetious here. I suppose there are some cases where falling asleep after a crisis could be an appropriate place to leave off a chapter. And it’s definitely possible to mine good drama from a character losing consciousness after a head injury. (Although this, too, is overused and problematic, which I’ll cover in another post on another day.)
It may not be the worst thing you can do as a writer, but it’s also not the best. I wouldn’t recommend it if your goal is to maintain a firm grip on your reader’s attention.
Readers are constantly looking for good excuses to put down the book. There is a lot going on in their lives vying for their time. They have to pick up the children from school. They have to go back to work. They have to answer emails and return phone calls. They usually don’t have to keep reading this book in their lap.
And here’s a key consideration. Very often, the reader is holding your book while lying in bed. They’re totally relaxed. They’re surrounded by their most comfortable pillows and blanket. They are feeling their mind and body slowing drifting off into…
You lost them. They fell asleep.
Your job is to make them turn the page.
If your goal is to keep their attention, you need to consider ending your scenes with interesting hooks to make sure they keep coming back for more. The last thing a reader needs is for the character to succumb to the temptation to sleep, especially since they themselves may be facing the exact same temptation.
Now, don’t get me wrong. Every chapter doesn’t need to end with a car chase or a gun going off or a character getting kicked in the stomach. That gets exhausting in its own way. Sometimes you will do these things! But most times, when you get close to the end of a scene, you will want to find subtle ways to remind your reader of the little mysteries and story hooks you have been shrewdly unspooling.
The end of the scene is an invitation to tempt your reader into diving back in for another helping of delicious storytelling. It’s not an invitation for them to catch some Z’s.
Evan Braun is a full-time author and editor. He has authored three novels, the first of which, The Book of Creation, was shortlisted in two categories at the 2012 Word Awards. He has released two sequels, The City of Darkness (2013) and The Law of Radiance (2015), completing the series. Braun is an experienced professional editor, and has worked with Word Alive Press authors since 2006. He is also a regular contributor at The Fictorians, a popular writing blog.
]]>To commence the celebrations, each of our children took their turns taking us out for a meal to celebrate our birthdays in their own ways. They also arranged a family reunion with my side of the family. Not only was it the first time in almost five years that I’ve had all of my children and grandchildren together, but it was also the first time my aging mom was together with all of us, including her own three children and spouses in well over seven years. In fact, it was the first time she’d ever been with all four of her great-grandchildren, who all live out of province. To say that it was a special time would be an understatement. There were a lot of missed moments worthy of redeeming. It was a moment in time to be seized and celebrated on every level and in every way. So that’s what we did!
We all saw it for the gift that it was. So, we seized the moment and squeezed every ounce of goodness we could. We hugged, we laughed, we cried, we ate, we played, we swam, we remembered, and we celebrated.
The next day, as part of our gift, our three children and their spouses arranged for us to have our first entire family photo shoot since before our son, Ben, died fourteen years ago. There are no words to describe the gift it was. They even brought a picture of him to include. I was thankful I found the ability to smile through the tears brimming in my heart throughout the experience.
The Bible is full of celebrations where joy and pain co-exist including festivals, victories, and times of remembrance. Nehemiah records a weeklong celebration after the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem. “Then all the people went away to eat and drink, to send portions of food and to celebrate with great joy, because they now understood the words that had been made known to them” (Neh. 8:12, NIV). “The whole company that had returned from exile built temporary shelters and lived in them. From the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day, the Israelites had not celebrated it like this. And their joy was very great” (Neh. 8:17, NIV). “Day after day, from the first day to the last, Ezra read from the Book of the Law of God. They celebrated the festival for seven days, and on the eighth day, in accordance with the regulation, there was an assembly” (Neh. 8:18, NIV). “At the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, the Levites were sought out from where they lived and were brought to Jerusalem to celebrate joyfully the dedication with songs of thanksgiving and with the music of cymbals, harps and lyres” (Neh. 12:27, NIV). In the book of Esther, Esther led the charge in celebrating the deliverance of the Jews after a plan for their annihilation, calling it the Feast of Purim. Luke 15 tells of a father celebrating the return of his prodigal. And of course, there is the Feast of the Lamb awaiting those who love the Lord when we all get to heaven. What a day of rejoicing that will be!
Each day is a gift to treasure as it will never be repeated. Tomorrow is not a guarantee. Therefore, we need to celebrate today. Here’s how:
There’s a saying I’ve treasured in my heart since the death of my son, “Enjoy the little things in life. One day you’ll look back and realize they were the big things.” I’ve learned, especially since then, that life is too short to miss out on today. Therefore, live life as fully as possible in the gift of every moment you’re given, no matter what that moment may hold. Why wait until it’s too late? Take time today to celebrate—remembering God’s faithfulness, rejoicing in His goodness, and being thankful for His daily blessings, counting them day by day, moment by moment, and one by one.
Lisa Elliott is an inspirational speaker and award-winning author of The Ben Ripple, Dancing in the Rain, and A Ministry Survival Guide. She’s also a writer for Just Between Us Magazine, theStory, and Good Ground. She and her pastor-husband, David, have four children (three on earth, one in heaven) and serve the Lord together in Ottawa, ON, Canada.
]]>And honestly, I can’t emphasize that enough. Often the worst thing you can do is water down the flavour that gives your writing its ineffable je ne sais quoi.
As with anything else that could be described as ineffable, this is a really (really, really) difficult thing to measure. It’s literally inexpressible.
That being the case, here at Word Alive Press we do try to account for it as best we can. If you’ve ever submitted a manuscript to us and received an evaluation form in return, you’ll note that one of categories we offer a score on is “Voice.” It’s not quite the same thing as what I describe here as the ineffable quality that makes your writing uniquely you—in other words, your secret sauce. But it comes closest.
If your book comes across as vulnerable and personal and transparent, you’re going to score highly in “Voice.” And it’s also an indication that your sense of individual style at the very least has solid potential.
However, more than once in recent months, Word Alive Press clients have posed a related question to all of this: what if your individual style also pushes you to intentionally break rules of grammar, things that might lower your evaluation score for “Mechanics”? Mechanics, of course, measures your ability to master the conventions of good writing— language, vocabulary, punctuation, the parts of speech , point of view, etc.
Are you allowed to bend, or break, the rules of good writing in order to enhance your sense of style?
Yes.
And no.
Which is a frustrating answer!
This won’t be super satisfying to some people reading this blog, but the truth is that it’s a tricky subject. Because there are few things that are more important to master than the mechanics of writing. And next month, I’ll be back to explain precisely why this is.
For now, though, understand that, yes, breaking rules of grammar can make your writing stand out in a good way. It can also inadvertently shine a very bright spotlight on your most embarrassing weaknesses—although you probably won’t know they’re weaknesses at the time. That awareness only comes later, as you accumulate experience. Ever had the chance to look back at something you wrote ten years ago only to wince at all the decisions you would have made differently now that you’ve got another decade under your belt?
Rules of grammar are there for a reason, and breaking them can expose your lack of experience.
That’s what it all comes down to: experience. If you’re highly experienced, you will know exactly when the opportunity is ripe to eschew a full sentence in favour of a sentence fragment. Or use unconventional punctuation. Or express an idea redundantly, or repeat a word over and over for added emphasis.
All of those techniques are permissible, given the right conditions.
Inexperienced writers are bad at recognizing those conditions, which is why following the rules—the conventions, the best practices—is the safest bet. It’s very easy to break the rules in a way that accidentally compromises the clarity of your writing—and as I’ve written before, clarity is king.
This may sound like I would give license for one author to break as many rules as they want, while I wouldn’t give the same license to another. And that’s true.
If you’re ramping up to break rules on purpose, all I can do is advise caution. Be absolutely certain that you are having the intended effect. The result could be amazing, or it could be disastrous.
To sum this up, yes, your style is good enough. Also, you probably want to make sure your style follows the conventions of good English writing as much as possible.
Beyond that, it’s a judgment call. And sometimes the only way to make good judgment calls is to have the unfortunate experience of making bad ones.
If you aren’t sure what to do and feel like you could benefit from having another set of experienced eyes on your piece to make sure you’re making the right call… well, that’s what editors are for. At Word Alive Press, we’ve got a range of services available to help.
Evan Braun is a full-time author and editor. He has authored three novels, the first of which, The Book of Creation, was shortlisted in two categories at the 2012 Word Awards. He has released two sequels, The City of Darkness (2013) and The Law of Radiance (2015), completing the series. Braun is an experienced professional editor, and has worked with Word Alive Press authors since 2006. He is also a regular contributor at The Fictorians, a popular writing blog.
]]>If you’re even considering the idea of writing a series, I assume you love writing. More and more authors are seeing this practice as a beneficial way to expand the character arcs and more develop the world-building in which they have invested so much time and so many resources.
Here are some questions to ask yourself if you are considering writing a series:
1. Do I have more than one book in me?
Some writers have enough of a challenge fashioning one book. “Pantsers” (writers that fly by the seat of their pants) arrive, mug in hand, hoping for inspiration. “Outliners” focus on the details of the story they have organized. Each requires discipline and determination to keep themselves pointed toward a clear destination for their characters.
Underneath, there are some unspoken questions. How am I going to write something that will keep my readers coming back over and over again? And will I commit myself to hours, months, and years of growing with my character? Do I really love this story that much?
Hopefully you’ve already forced yourself to think through whether a series is right for the genre you are writing in. (I mentioned previously that historical fiction, fantasy, mystery, science fiction, young adult, and romance are natural fits.)
Your compelling characters will carry the story if you develop their hopes, dreams, and desires well. Are they endearing, embraceable, and evolving enough to carry the reader along? Will people invest their time and resources to find out what happens next? The timeline, plot depth, and overall narrative arc may help you see how far you can stretch your books.
2. Do I want to spend time and resources on a series?
For myself, I cannot not write, so a series makes sense. My first book, One Last Wave, was a standalone therapy manual after spending eighteen years in Africa. I chose to write in the first-person present from the point of view of a female character, capturing my experiences through my daughter’s eyes.
When readers were done that offering, they asked, “What happens next?” A trilogy grew because the character had room to grow and too many unresolved questions.
Sometimes a series grows as you grow with your character. My Salome trilogy actually started as a single book, but it became too massive to contain within the usual 80,000 words most novels have.
There are many different reasons for why you may end up thinking of writing a series.
So, you’ve thought through your setting, timeline, character background and development, world-building, structure, plot points, and story arc. You’ve mastered the conflicts, fears, successes, desires, and choices of your protagonist and antagonist. Your inciting incident and hook grab the reader, and by the ending you’re tying up loose ends and setting the hook for the next adventure. You’ve paid attention to the natural turning points of a story and ensured that the contained plot of each book feeds into a larger whole for the series. Now what?
3. Have I done the background work, research, and organization needed for a series?
If you’re familiar with Tolkien’s rising and falling action pattern in Lord of the Rings, you will see that the first book, The Fellowship of the Ring, is about beginnings. The second book, The Two Towers, lays out complications. The third book, The Return of the King, brings us to a climax. He masterfully draws us into caring about his characters and the adventure they are drawn into.
The works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle present Sherlock Holmes in such a way that you can read any of the stories in isolation and be completely satisfied that you’ve experienced a complete adventure. Most of us will need to present a completed story arc within each work in order to keep readers hooked and satisfied over the course of a series.
Establishing a sense of place and an atmosphere in which things happen is also important. The key is to keep the reader connected to the character until the climax in each book, and until the climax of the series. Perhaps a Pinterest board with saved images, character descriptions and backgrounds, and overall plot points might help you keep everything consistent along the way when there are too many facts and details to keep in mind.
4. Is this my story to tell, and is it a natural one?
When we’re considering questions to ask ourselves, an important one is to consider whether we’ve allowed our themes to emerge out of the natural storyline our character is living out. The majority of our readers are gifted and intelligent enough to absorb what we’re trying to share when we immerse them in the world of our story. Some good editing and input from beta readers may help you determine whether you are successful in this area.
If you’ve presented a character profile consistently and faithfully to what is true and realistic; if the transformational journey of your protagonist is broad enough; if the desires, goals, motivations, and fears of your hero/heroine are clear; if you can see relationships change and grow; and if the reader is cheering for their success, then you have faced the essential questions.
5. Do I understand the journey I am about to undertake?
Post industry professionals urge us not to edit as we write. Inspiration needs to be harnessed before we can subject our work of wonder to the hard scalpel that may cut it up and reshape it. Writing in a way that continues to get the story down is essential.
Remember why you started your series in the first place. Fan that passion into energy to keep plugging away. Schedule time and stay committed to the characters you’re bringing to life.
Capture the answer to these questions ahead of time: What’s the main idea, theme, and reason for this story? What is your elevator pitch when presenting your story—one sentence? Who needs to read this, and what do I need them to understand through this character? Which sections need to be expanded and which sections need to be contracted or eliminated? Does the story seem natural in each book and over the whole arc of the series?
6. Do I have the support system I need to sustain this effort?
Writing is a lonely journey and is becoming more and more a team effort as writers, editors, beta readers, marketers, and publishers collaborate. Outside eyes, hearts, and voices can help bring clarification and satisfaction to what we hope to birth for each book. Others can see gaps, provide suggestions, celebrate insights, and provide needed skills.
The last thing you want to do is invest years into something that no one wants to publish or read. Focus on your genre, develop your characters and setting, sharpen your conflict, ratchet up the stakes, share your work as you go, and invite others into the journey. And I didn’t even mention praying your heart out!
How long will your series be? Well, a series will be about 80,000 to 90,000 words multiplied by the number of books you envision. The words are in you, but do you have what it takes to birth them, nourish them, and unleash them to a community that may not embrace them like you do?
Start writing and see.
Someone once said that if you spend five hours a day for five days a week for seven months, you will have the basic idea of what your creativity demands. Now, do that over and over for each book and then spend more time editing and publishing.
If you can answer these questions, you’ll have a good idea of whether you have a series in you that’s waiting to be born.
Jack A. Taylor (PhD) embraces the world through the six novels he has written. He spent 18 years in Kenya and 20 years pastoring a church. He and his wife Gayle live in Vancouver, Canada. They have four children and ten grandchildren. Jack is an award-winning author with Faithwriters and writes monthly for Light Magazine and other publications. Jack has helped found nine organizations, including the New Hope Community Services Society, which has provided housing for more than 600 refugees from 60 countries. He is also the founding chaplain for Canuck Place, a hospice for children with life-limiting challenges. Jack’s hobbies include raising tropical fish and reading.
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